If Love Ever Gives Me Another Try
by HidekoChan90
Summary: Sequal to "There You'll be. It's five years and two children later when Sango catches Miroku kissing another women. Fed up with his womanizing, she decides to leave and meets someone herself. But when tradgedy strikes, how will it bring them back together
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Sango, wait!" Miroku darted after her, fallowing her up the steps of their apartment building at an incredibly fast pace. "Can't we just talk about this?"

Sango didn't slow down, her infuriated walk just seem to get faster. Miroku chased after her, almost getting shut in between the door of the elevator and he forced them open.

Sango rolled her eyes, crossed her arms and stayed over on the other side of the elevator. "I didn't invite you in here."

"This is a public elevator." Miroku told her.

"Press the button." She demanded.

"No."

Sango stalked over and punched the 23rd button to take her to the 23rd floor, which is where she and her husband Miroku lived along with their two twin daughters, Akira and Hitomi.

"Let me explain!" He said, as the elevator shot up when the steel doors closed.

"There's nothing to explain." She said, not looking at him. "I'm going to get the girls and I'm staying at Mr. and Mrs. Harrison's."

"Oh yea? How do you know they're going to let you stay with them?" He asked.

"I called them. The girls are coming with me, too."

"Hey, they're half mine! Don't you think I get a say so in where they're going to be living?"

Sango was grateful that the elevator had stopped and the door dinged open before she replied and walked out. "They're 4 years old and they want to be with me. Not you!"

Miroku chased over her, but she slammed the door in his face, locking it. Miroku sighed, then chuckled. "You know, _dear_," He said, emphasizing his name of affection. "I have a key." He pulled his keys out of his pocket and selected his apartment key, then opened the door with ease.

Sango knew it was stupid to lock the door, but at least it delayed him from coming in. "Get out, monk!"

"No, this is my place, too." He said, and then looked over at his daughters who were laying on the floor coloring. "And those are my daughters, you can't just take them."

Sango unzipped her suitcase, the commotion had caused the two girls to watch their parents in utter confusion. What was going on? They never fought like this and it was impossible for four year olds to understand why their mother was so mad and why their father looked distressed.

"I have had it, Miroku! I'm so sick of this!" She said, pulling her clothes out of her drawers. "You always do this."

"I'm different, Sango. I've changed, I swear. Just let me explain."

"You cheated on me!" Sango said. Hearing her own voice say those words bought tears to her eyes and she turned away from him, not wanting to speak to him anymore because she knew her voice would crack from her sobs.

"Baby…" He said, entering the room. His slipped his arms around her waist and his dark eyes shimmered at her. "Let's just sit down and talk."

"No!" Sango exclaimed. "No! Just…stop." She jerked herself away and was angry at herself for liking the way he touched her.

"Sango, I love you. Just sit down and we'll talk about this. It's a misunderstanding!" Miroku begged.

Sango whirled around. "Oh? Was Raven a misunderstanding? Was Hayden a misunderstanding? And now your telling me that Emma is a misunderstanding too?"

"Emma doesn't mean anything to me."

Sango pulled her suitcase off her bed and plopped it on the floor. "Yea, she's just more attractive than me because she hasn't had your two children!"

"OK, that is so not true!" Miroku denied. "And, you're not perfect you know. You cheated on me with Jayceon back when we were in high school and…then there's Howard."

"Howard is fucking crazy!" Sango exclaimed. "I never did like him, I still don't, and I never will. I only went out with Jayceon for a week because _you_ were making out with Raven outside the festival new years eve!"

"Well, _you_…" He trailed off. "There was that time you…"

Sango rolled her suitcase out of the bedroom and Miroku almost tripped over Akira as he fallowed her out.

"Sango, wait a minute. You're just angry."

She stopped in her tracks and Miroku knocked his leg against the suitcase. She whirled around to face him. "I have every right to be angry! I just saw you kissing another woman!"

"That's true. But…" He stopped. "She doesn't mean anything to me."

Sango's eyes burned with anger. "Marrying you was a mistake!"

Miroku's eyes grew wide and something inside him snapped. "Oh yea? Well, tell me something, Sango, are those two little girls in there mistakes?"

"Of course not, they're the only good things that came out of this marriage." Sango exclaimed, noticing Hitomi looked like she was about ready to burst into tears. She pushed past Miroku and stormed into the living room. "Akira, grab your coloring books." She said, picking up Hitomi.

Miroku watched her as she helped them pack up their toys. "You're not really leaving me…" He said, a cocky grin came to his face and Sango looked up at him quite annoyed.

"Watch me."

"You can't leave me, I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you." Miroku leaned against the wall of their kitchen and watched as she rushed past him into the girls' room. "What are you doing?"

"Getting the girls clothes and toys…"

"Why?"

"Because I'm leaving."

"No you're not." He said, blocking her exit from their daughters room. "I won't let you."

Sango sighed and put Hitomi down for a moment. Miroku felt relief wash over him, that was a good sign. "Get out of my way, before I push you out of my way."

"You're not strong enough."

Sango scowled and pushed him hard on his chest until he fell backwards into the broom closet where a broom came down and conked him on the head.

"I'm not dealing with your arrogant attitude today, Miroku. I'm gone!"

Miroku scrambled up, pushing the broom and a mop back into it's place. Then he quickly ran in front of her. "Don't leave me." He said, then she felt his lips against hers and she was too shocked to move.

Her hands pushed lightly on his chest and she pulled herself away after a long moment. His kiss had put her mind in a fog for a few seconds, but then she remembered why she was angry.

"Wow, Emma has nothing on you." He muttered.

"You…are so…"

"Irresistible?" He asked, grinning.

Sango glared. "Divorced!"

"Divorced? You want a divorce?"

"Yes! I want a divorce because I can't handle this anymore." Her voice cracked and she covered her eyes with her hands. "C'mon girls, let's go."

Akira grabbed her mother's hand and dragged Hitomi along with her, who seemed petrified by their fight.

Miroku watched her walk out the door, along with his daughters who would occasionally glance back at him. "Alright, fine Sango, you leave. But you'll be back."

"Don't bet on it!" She yelled, slamming the door causing him to jump.

Miroku stood in the kitchen, feeling like a complete fool. 'Well, congratulations, monk. You managed to get her mad at you again, and this time she actually left.' He thought to himself.

"Ah, well…she'll be back, right Kirara?" He asked, the small cream-colored cat that had jumped onto the counter. "She wouldn't leave you behind, I know that for a fact."

Suddenly his cell phone rang and he smiled when he saw it was her. "Yes, love?"

"I'm coming back to get Kirara after I get the girls settled in, so don't think I'm only leaving temporarily."

Miroku's heart sank. "You sure?"

She hung up.

Sighing, he clicked his phone off and tossed it on the counter. "I'm an idiot. She's never said that 'D' word before. Divorce? I mean…that's serious. That's almost…permanent."

He received a small mew from Kirara and he glanced at her. "You're just a cat you wouldn't understand. You probably hate me too, don't you girl?"

Kirara jumped down and stepped in front of her bowl. "You just want me to feed you, huh?"

A meow was his only response and he filled her bowl with handful of food. "Don't worry Kirara, she'll come back." He said, realizing that maybe she wasn't coming back. She had sounded pretty serious, and for the five long years they had been married, she had never said 'divorce' before.

Maybe this wasn't just another spat they were having. Maybe she actually was fed up with the way he was and he couldn't blame her. "She could at least let me keep you for some company…" He said, looking over at Kirara who was enjoying her meal.

Kirara peered over at him momentarily.

"Then again, you're not really a good advice source." Miroku said, sighing. He needed someone to talk to her. Another male, Buddha knows he wasn't ready to face another female right now. Especially Hideko, Amber, or Kagome.

News spread fast around the building and he knew his fellow housemates had heard about their fight, and what he had done. Not to mention Emma probably told a few people.

Why had he done such a stupid thing? Why hadn't he pushed her away just a little faster? Maybe it was one of Howard's spells, he did feel kind of funny when it happened, like if he was about to throw up. Or maybe that was only because he thought about the consequences it would have if Sango had caught him, though he didn't think she'd take it to this extreme.

He stood up, patted Kirara on the head and grabbed his jacket. He had to talk to Nelly, but he couldn't be long. When Sango came back to get her beloved cat, that was his chance to convince her to stay.

***********************************************************************************

"Thank you, Mrs. Harrison." Sango said, solemnly, trying not to sound too depressed.

"You know you can stay with us anytime." Sakura Harrison promised, patting her on the shoulder. "Keiko is really excited that the girls are going to be staying with us for a little while."

Sango forced a smile. "Well I'm glad they get along. I…have to go back and get Kirara. I left her there with that…jerk…I have for a husband." She said, trying to be polite.

Sakura frowned. "Well, dear. I'll leave you to settle in here. If you need to talk I'll be downstairs preparing dinner."

"Thank you." Sango said, and heard the door close shut with a click. Why she was in this bedroom, she didn't know. This was the same bedroom that she and Miroku, who she really didn't want to think about right now, had shared when they first fell through the well almost 6 years ago.

6 long years ago. And now here she was, back in it with two daughters who resembled him way too much. Life went way too fast. And to think they just celebrated their 5 year anniversary in August. It had just started to turn a blistery fall and it had been a measly two months since he had treated her to that very romantic dinner and an equally passionate night.

Sango missed that. She missed him, and she hated herself for it. Divorce…did she really mean it?

Did she really want a divorce from him? He _had_ kissed another woman, and he _had _upset their entire household by losing his temper, which he rarely did. But of course, she lost hers too.

Why was she berating herself? She didn't _do_ anything! A woman's emotions were not easily as ignored as a man's, and the only thing she was really thinking about was getting herself and her children away from that jerk.

"Stupid Miroku, I should just…_kill_ him!" Sango muttered as she unpacked her clothes. She was grateful for the room, but it held too many memories of him in it. It was the first room they were forced to sleep in together, everything in it had a story or a memory to remind her of.

Sango stowed her suitcase in the back corner of room and suddenly felt like a burden. Sakura and Brock had to put up with her now, and all because she had a fight with Miroku, as if that was something new.

But Sakura didn't seem to mind having her around, she had almost become like a second mother to her. Sango decided it was time to go back and get Kirara, though she wasn't looking forward to seeing Miroku.

She came out of the room and ascended the staircase that led down to the living room and she smiled when she saw her girls playing barbies with Keiko. "Akira, Hitomi…"

They both looked up at her at the same time.

"Mommy has to go and get Kirara, you behave for Mr. and Mrs. Harrison, alright?"

"Alright." Akira said and turned back around. Hitomi stared up at her with those same blue eyes as her father, which were welling up with tears.

"Hitomi, I'll only be gone for a minute. Just play Barbies with your sister, I'll be back before you know it." Sango assured her, running her fingers through her hair, which was much like her own, dark brown, not quite black.

Akira laughed. "Yea, stop being such a baby, Hitomi."

Hitomi scowled at her and snatched a doll out of her hands.

Sango sighed. "I said behave. I'll be back, OK?"

"OK." Hitomi said, timidly and watched her walk out the door.

Sango walked to her car almost in slow motion. The sun was just beginning to set in the sky and she really despised driving in the dark, so she was going to make this visit short and sweet.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The front door opened and Miroku immediately jumped up from his chair. "Sango…"

"Go away, houshi, I don't want to talk to you." Sango said, brushing past him and was pleased to see Kirara was curled up in a ball on the couch, her tail wrapped almost completely around her. "There you are."

"Hey, since you're leaving me here all alone, you can at least let me keep the cat." Miroku said, as if this was _her_ fault for their fight. Smug bastard.

"She's _my_ cat! Who do you think you are Miroku?" Sango picked Kirara up, disturbing her from her sleep and then stalked off into the kitchen to gather her food bowl.

"I'm your husband, the one you promised to honor and cherish until death do us part?" Miroku asked. "C'mon, don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

"No, Miroku, I don't." She said. "Because I know you're only going to say what I want to hear. Besides, you kind of broke our marriage vows earlier when you kissed Emma." Her fist clenched. "I knew when she moved in here it would be a mistake!"

"OK, first, she kissed me." Miroku told her. "I had something in my eye and--"

"Don't lie to me, Miroku!"

"No, I really did." Miroku said, sadly. "You never did trust me did you?"

"Can you blame me?" Sango asked. "You flirt with anything that has breasts and moves! That's how we got into the mess right before we got married and you got shot."

Miroku sighed. "Sango that was 5 years ago, besides that woman was psycho. That wasn't my fault…"

"You always have to come out looking like the good guy, don't you?" Sango asked, rolling her eyes. "Well, whatever I'm done. I have to go and get the girls fed and bathed, they have school tomorrow."

"Hey, wait…" Miroku said. "You're just mad right? You _are_ coming back home, aren't you?" he reached out and grabbed her wrist gently, pulling her back to him.

Sango wriggled out of his gentle grasp and tears came to her eyes. "I don't know, alright? Just…leave me alone." She stooped down and gathered Kirara in her arms, then quickly exited their apartment again.

***********************************************************************************

"She must really be mad this time." Nelly said as he reclined back on the black cloth couch. "She hasn't come back and it's 11:00."

Miroku glanced at the clock. "She won't be back either. The girls are usually asleep by this time of night." He sighed, miserably.

"Hey, man, cheer up." Nelly had been trying to lighten his mood for the last half an hour, but all of his attempts failed. "Look at it this way, you won't have her nagging you about this and that…"

Miroku chuckled. "I'd rather have her nagging me than this awful silence."

Nelly was quiet for a moment, and then, "We could order some playboy."

"I don't think Amber would be too happy about that." Miroku reminded him with a smile.

"True." Nelly sighed. "Well, I've never been in your position, dude. Amber was always the one who used to cheat on me, I never cheated on her."

The monk peered over him. "Don't remind me of how much of a complete idiot I am."

"Sorry…"

"I mean, she used the word 'divorce'. That's a serious word…"

"Very serious." Nelly agreed. "Maybe you should call her."

Miroku flipped on the television. "I've already called her 6 times in the last hour, she won't pick up. I think she turned her phone off." He propped his feet on the coffee table, which he was never allowed to do before. OK, so having her gone meant he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted. He could enjoy this for a couple days.

"Oh! Turn that back!" Nelly exclaimed. "Jackie Chan adventures."

"Jackie Chan adventures sucks." The monk laughed, but settled in for the show, which Nelly seemed to really be into. "Man, and I thought Hello Kitty was annoying."

Nelly watched the television intently. "You got any beer?"

"There's some in the fridge." Miroku replied and Nelly stood up, never taking his eyes off the television. It amazed Miroku he managed not to bump into anything on his way over to it.

"You want one?" Nelly asked, holding up two cans.

Miroku thought for a minute. "Nah, I better not. I got an early day tomorrow."

Nelly cracked open a can. "Oh, well…I'll go back home after this, so you can get to bed."

"As if I'm going to get any sleep…" Miroku snorted. "It wouldn't be so bad if Shiori was still here, but she's moved out with Pierre. It's just kind of lonely here without my family."

Nelly took a sip of his beer. "Maybe you shouldn't have kissed Emma."

"I didn't kiss her!" The houshi exclaimed. "Well, I did, just…not on purpose. She kissed me."

"Did you tell Sango that?"

"Yes!" Miroku exclaimed. "She didn't believe me. Then again, I don't blame her. I've never been the best boyfriend, fiancé, or husband a woman could have."

***********************************************************************************

Sango climbed into bed shortly after midnight, but wasn't tired at all. The entire house was too quiet and the bed too cold, too lonely. She missed Miroku's strong, warm embrace and the small kisses he would place on her neck before he whispered goodnight into her ear softly.

He had done it almost every night since they had been together, and for the first night in a long while, she didn't have that. It was an alien feeling, not having him beside her. Her back was cold, as a matter of fact, her entire body was cold.

Something shined in the darkness on her hand, and she realized it was her wedding ring. The same one he had placed on her finger over 5 years ago, and never took it off. Sango often wondered if it had grown to be a permanent part of her hand sometimes. "Stupid ring…"

She twisted it off, along with a lot of physical pain. She thought she might feel better once it was off, but as soon as she placed it on her nightstand, she discovered it only made her feel worse.

Sango glanced down at her bare hand, no ring, nothing. It was just like it used to be before he asked her to marry him, before she had thought he was truly committed to her. Before she gave him two precious daughters that he didn't even seem to care about!

He hadn't even chased after her! He just stood there and let her leave! How could he do that? Then realization struck her like a bolt of lightening.

Because he _wanted _her gone! He wanted her out of his life so he could go out and do whatever he wanted with his friends and flirt with every whore on this side of the planet!

Stupid, stupid, monk.

_Stupid, Stupid, Sango._ She thought to herself. _You should have known better, you should have known he was too good to be true._

She closed her tired brown eyes as a tear slipped down her cheek. "Stupid Miroku…I don't miss him." She said aloud, to Kirara. "I'm not going back, not this time. He's really made me angry, and no matter how much I love him, I'm never going back!"

***********************************************************************************

Miroku awoke the next morning to the sound of his clock radio. He winced at the loud high pitched sound in the early morning light and he turned over onto his side, his back towards the clock. "Sango, hit the snooze button…"

Nothing happened.

"Sango?" He sat up. Oh that's right, she wasn't here. He sighed and smacked the alarm clock. "Damn…morning already." He said to himself, surprised he had slept at all. Their bed was too big for just him and he was more than happy to get out of it.

When his day started he could act like nothing was wrong and he could occupy his time working and being with his friends, but at night when he went to bed it was a cruel reminder he was lonely.

He meandered into the bathroom and took a look at himself in the mirror. "Buddha, I look terrible." He needed to shave and crawl back into bed for another day or two by the looks of his scruffy face and tired blue eyes. Why did he let it bother him so much?

So she wanted a divorce? Big deal, he was handsome, funny and smart, he could find another women just like that if he wanted to, he didn't need her. He reached for his razor and turned it on and shaved his face, but not entirely. He simply didn't have the energy.

Miroku ran his fingers over his rough, prickly skin. The apartment was eerily quiet, usually by this time of morning his daughters were up preparing for a day of preschool and Sango was cooking him a wonderful breakfast. But instead his apartment was still dark, silent, and sleepy.

He walked out of his bedroom and walked into the kitchen. He might be able to cook up something, though it probably wouldn't be too good. Or maybe just a bowl of cereal while he read the newspaper.

Miroku reached for the box of Cheerios on top of the refrigerator and pulled down a bowl. It wasn't the most appetizing meal, but at least it was something. The sooner he ate the sooner he could leave his apartment and act like nothing was wrong.

He sat down at the table and read his newspaper, mainly the sports' section. That still didn't distract his mind from the fact that he was alone and Akira wasn't kicking him in the knee like she did every morning, Hitomi wasn't throwing Cheerios at his paper and Sango wasn't wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him goodbye.

This was absolutely terrible. He lost his appetite just thinking about it and he closed his newspaper and laid it on the table. He still needed to get dressed, as much as he didn't want to go back into that bedroom, he had to. His clothes were in there, along with everything else he owned.

After quickly changing into his blue, thinly-striped work uniform he grabbed his keys off of his dresser…their dresser…and walked out. He stepped out into the open air of the outside, slightly chilly, but the sun was warming the earth quite well at this time of year.

Late September had always been Miroku's favourite time of year. It was comfortable, breezy and he liked preparing for the holidays with his family and his thoughts turned dark. What if he didn't make up with Sango by then? He, of all people, knew that the former exterminator could hold quite a grudge, especially against him, she almost seemed to enjoy making him squirm and beg for her forgiveness.

He slipped into his car and drove off towards the small convenience store he worked at. He turned on the radio and immediately heard a song about breaking up, not something he needed today. Miroku agitatedly turned volume down and stared straight ahead.

Everywhere he went reminded him of Sango, every street corner, every restaurant, especially the hospital she had given birth to his daughters in. She was everywhere and he realized how much of a fool he had been to think he could just replace her.

He parked crookedly in front of the convenience store. His boss, Reggie Bush, was sweeping the floor and restocking the candy shelf when he walked in. Reggie was also one of Miroku's housemates and was even married to one of his ex girlfriends, who he dated almost 7 years ago now. Wow, how time flies.

"Hey there, Keseki, how are you feeling?"

"I feel great." Miroku said, taking his place behind the register to clock in.

"I heard what happened between you and Sango…" Reggie informed him and he saw the monk's expression turn hard and determined, his jaw was clenched and square, his eyes never left the keys of the register.

"I don't care if she's mad." Miroku said, with a chuckle. "At least I don't have her around nagging me all the time about this and that…" He tried to make his voice sound deep, and sure, but it wasn't fooling Reggie.

"Well, hey, if you need to talk, I'm here." Reggie said, and then stepped into the backroom with his broom and dustpan.

Miroku drummed his fingers on the counter and was not looking forward to the 8 hour shift ahead of him. It was almost 7 A.M. and he Miroku already felt like going home.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

_Hitomi Keseki sat in the corner of the colorful room, holding onto a teddy bear as she watched her sister play with the other children. She kept her eyes on the clock, remembering that her mother had told her when the big hand reached the three, she would come back and get her._

_Akira nudged her arm. "You've been sitting there all day. I think we're almost ready to go outside!"_

"_I don't want to go outside, I want to go home."_

_Akira rolled her brown eyes and glanced up at the clock. "Mom always comes to get us when the little hand is on the three, now c'mon. Playing on the slides isn't as fun without you."_

_Hitomi stood up slowly and shyly fallowed her sister. "Hey Akira, I wonder why we spent the night at Keiko's last night. Mom never lets us on a school night."_

_Akira stopped and turned around, facing her sister. "I don't know Hitomi, all I know is that mom looked really mad."_

"_Why?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_Why?"_

_Akira sighed. "Don't do this Hitomi. C'mon…" Her eyes brightened when she saw her classmates line up at the door. _

_Hitomi fallowed behind her and then joined her on the slide. It seemed they had only been playing for just a few minutes when they saw the familiar white Honda pull around the side._

"_Aw, man!" Akira said, disappointed. "We have to go home already?"_

_This time it was Hitomi who dragged her sister along, dragging her towards the car and Sango kneeled down to gather them in her arms._

"_Hey you two!" Sango hugged the both of them and then stood up to sign their names on the bottom of the sign out sheet their teacher gave her._

_She lifted Hitomi into the car and realized Akira was already trying her to best to clamber inside. "Akira, you're going to break your neck doing that one day."_

"_Daddy let's me do it." Akira said happily. _

_Sango clenched her first. "Your father let's you do that?"_

"_Yea!" Akira exclaimed. "I told him I wanted to try it by myself and he lets me."_

_Sango sighed. Stupid idiot, monk. Ex-monk. Gas station attendant. Whatever he was! She shut both the backseat doors and slid behind the steering wheel. "Seatbelts."_

_Akira and Hitomi both clicked theirs on. _

"_Does you father make you wear your seatbelts?"_

"_Sometimes." Akira said. "He doesn't wear his at all."_

_Sango simply shook her head. Miroku was so irresponsible and stupid! She pulled onto the main highway and started towards the Harrison's home. Hitomi looked out the window and looked at her mother._

"_This isn't the way home, mom."_

"_I know it isn't, sweety." Sango said, casually. "We've got to go by Keiko's house and feed Kirara." She eased her foot on the brake when she saw the traffic light was yellow, then it flashed to red and she stopped. _

_A car pulled up beside her, playing really loud music and Sango looked over only to have her heart sink and her anger grow. How immature could he get?_

_Did he really think he was cool riding around with that stupid bass in his hot, red, shiny camero in that grimy looking work uniform he had on? Well, OK, she had always thought he looked extremely attractive like that and that's why she hated looking his way._

_He peered over at her and smile came to his face. He turned down his radio and poked his head out the window. "Hey honey, you still mad?"_

"_What's it look like?" Sango asked, grateful that the light had turned green again and she sped off, leaving him far behind._

"_Shit!" He exclaimed. She was still mad and she wasn't headed home either. He floored his gas pedal and his car roared down the road after her. He could have cared less about the teenage girls that had checked him out as he passed them, normally he would have liked that, but not today. He had more important things to take care of._

_He pulled in beside Brock's very modest car just as Sango was helping the girls out of the car. Hitomi smiled and bolted for the side of the car towards Miroku. "Daddy!"_

"_Hitomi…" Sango groaned. Great. Now she had to talk to him._

_Miroku picked her up and swung her around. "Hey! I missed you!" He kissed her cheek and then placed her on the ground softly. He kneeled down next to Akira and held out his hand. "Well, hey their stranger."_

"_Daddy!" She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck and Sango couldn't help but grin. Alright, so he was an excellent father, but he wasn't a very good husband. _

_He kissed the top of her head and stood up, now at eye level with Sango. He nervously shoved his hands in his pockets. "So…"_

"_Why did you fallow me here?"_

"_I just want to talk." Miroku said. "Sango it's only been a day since we split up and I'm miserable without you."_

_Sango turned her back towards him. "I don't want to talk to you."_

"_Too bad." Miroku told her. "You kind of have to, we're married."_

_Sango peered at him over her shoulder. "Look, Miroku, I meant what I said about a divorce, alright?" _

"_Sango, c'mon, you don't really want that, do you?" He asked, as she walked away from him inside the house. He picked up Hitomi, who had been pulling on his jeans since he stood up, and fallowed her into the house. "Baby, wait a second."_

"_Stop calling me that!" Sango snapped, facing him. "Give me my daughter."_

"_Hey, she's mine, too." Miroku retorted. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have her."_

"_I would so."_

_Miroku snorted with laugher. "Kind of hard to have a child when you don't have a man to help you along." _

"_You're not the only man in the world, Miroku." She groused through gritted teeth. "What? You don't think I'm attractive enough for anyone else?"_

"_No!" Miroku exclaimed. How did she manage to twist his words around and make him out to be the bad guy? She was expert at it, he swore! "I didn't mean it that way. I'm…I'm just going to shut up before I say anything else wrong."_

"_That's been the smartest thing you've ever said in your life, houshi!" Sango looked at him for a long moment and for one fleeting second she missed him. "Just get out Miroku, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison aren't too happy with you right now and they don't want you around me."_

"_They hate me now, too?" Miroku asked in disbelief. _

"_You cheated on me!"_

"_I did __not_ cheat on you, Sango."

"What is it going to take for you to get out?" She asked, crossing her arms and peering at him.

"For you to come back home with me right now and be my wife again." He said, touching her arm and for an instant Sango felt herself wanting to be wrapped in his embrace again. His voice was low and seductive as he moved closer to her, his solid form looming in front of her. "Come home with me, let me make love to you."

He nuzzled her neck and Sango closed her eyes and ran her fingers through his hair. "Miroku…" She whimpered his name as she felt him place light kisses on her neck.

"Doesn't that feel good?" He asked, tickling her favourite spot below her ear with his tongue.

Sango bit back another cry of pleasure and pushed him away. "Get off of me!"

"Oh, c'mon!" Miroku exclaimed. "I thought you were going to pull me up into our old room and have your way with me."

"Not at 3:30 in the afternoon, pervert! The children are still awake!" She said, trying to regain her senses. "Sorry I'm not a whore like Emma. Why don't you go see what she's up to, fucking slut."

Miroku felt his ego take a bomb dive. So he was resistible after all… "Sango…"

"Look, I'll make you a deal." Sango said, trying to hold her anger inside. "You leave now, and I'll bring the girls by tomorrow after school and you can spend the weekend with them."

Miroku watched her, he knew there was no point in arguing with her, she was stubborn as a mule and he had known her long enough to know she wasn't going to back down. His wit couldn't hope to match hers, and he knew as soon as he had laid eyes on her that he had met his match, but she was the one for him. He wasn't going to let that all down the drain just because some other woman kissed him.

"That's great, Sango. But that's not what I was asking for. I was asking for my family to come back home with me." He said, gripping her shoulders with both hands. "You know, be a family again."

"No!" Sango protested. "I won't ever let you hurt me again! You've broken my heart so many times I can't even count! I'm fed up!"

"Alright, fine. You don't want to talk to me now, we'll talk tomorrow." He said, turning from her. Then he peered slowly back over his shoulder. "You look beautiful by the way…"

Sango looked down and she wondered how many other women he had told that to today. "Just go…"

"As you wish." He said, turning from her and sliding open the patio door and walked out to his car. Sango watched him through the glass door as he drove off and he felt her heart breaking yet again. Even when she pushed him away he still managed to hurt her somehow.

***********************************************************************************

Sango kicked the sand of Tokyo's beach in front of her, holding three pairs of shoes and keeping a close eye on her girls as they stopped every few steps to write their names in the sand or draw pictures.

The sun was beginning to set and the pink-streaked sky reminded her of Miroku. They used to sit on the beach and just watch the beautiful colours it cast out over the ocean and it hurt her so bad right now she couldn't even look at it.

Was she really that unattractive? So ugly and hideous that he would stray to other women after 5 years of marriage and two children? Her marriage was in shambles and she felt like just breaking down and crying sometimes.

But she couldn't. Not in front of the girls.

"Ew!" Akira exclaimed, pointing in the sand to a slimy looking jelly fish that had washed itself on shore. "What's that?"

Sango snatched her hand away from it. "Ew. Don't touch it. I think it's a jelly fish."

"Cool!" Akira kneeled down next to it. "Is it dead?"

"I think so." Sango said. "C'mon, let's leave it alone, alright?"

Hitomi looked down at it for a few moments. "Daddy always pokes at it with a stick or something…"

Sango rolled her eyes. "Why does he do that?"

"He said it looked cool." Akira said shrugging.

Sango picked her up and dragged her away from the jellyfish that seemed utterly fascinating to her. Hitomi immediately fallowed when Sango walked too far away from her.

She could barely hold everything, including her purse, Akira, and the shoes. And eventually, she just dropped everything, except Akira onto the sandy beach. "Oh no!"

She kneeled down in the sand and searched around for her car keys, and her make up which had fallen out of her purse. Akira was helping to, but seemed to be more interested in a crab that waddled by.

Suddenly, a male voice sounded from above her and Sango peered up to see a brown-eyed man with black hair staring down at her. His hair was black and tied back into a long pony-tail. His skin was dark and tanned and he was really quite handsome. "You need any help?"

"Uh…yes. Actually. Thank you." Sango said, smiling. "I found everything else, except my car keys.

He kneeled down in front of her and sifted through the sand and then jangled the metal in the air. "These it?"

"Oh! Thank you!" Sango exclaimed as he handed her the keys, which she stuffed back into her purse.

The man looked over at Akira who had found another jellyfish and was now poking it with a stick then at Hitomi who was just watching in disgust. "Are they your girls?"

"Yes." Sango replied, quickly picking up Akira again.

"I thought so. They look like you, especially the shy one." He said, and she noticed his eyes were averted to her hands, a slow smile came to his face. "You married?"

Sango lowered her eyes for a moment and then continued to walk up the beach with the man, who she didn't even know. But it seemed like she could trust him. "Sort of…"

"Sort of?"

"Well, we're married. But he cheated on me. Yesterday, actually." She explained, not sure why she was telling a complete stranger details about her love life.

"Wow. And these are his kids?"

"Yes. I've only been married five years." Sango told him. She really didn't want to talk about this anymore, but she didn't want to be rude. A change of subject seemed nice right about now. "So, what do you do?"

"I'm a magician." He replied. "I work down at the pier in the summer and fall, when it gets cold I move my shows across town to the arena's in downtown Tokyo."

"Wow. A magician. It's not everyday you meet one of those…" Sango said. "My girls love magicians, but they hate circuses. Akira's afraid of clowns so we never go. I guess she gets that from her father."

He laughed. "Your husband's afraid of clowns?"

"Always has been." Sango grinned a little, then instantly hated herself for it. "It's kind of his little secret he doesn't like too many people to know about."

The man chuckled again. "Here," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out three tickets. "I'm having a show tonight down at the pier. Bring your girls by and I'll make sure you get a good seat. And I promise, no clowns."

"Wow…" Sango stared down at the tickets in her hand. "Thank you. Uhm…what's your name?"

He looked dumbfounded for a moment and then realized he had been so nervous he had forgotten to tell her his name. "Oh, ha! My name's Rob. Just say you're a friend of 'Rob El Greato'. What's your name, by the way?" He asked.

"Sango. Just plain Sango. And this is Akira and Hitomi." She said.

Rob smiled and bowed dramatically. "Nice to meet you ladies." He laughed. "The show starts at 8, I hope to see you there."

***********************************************************************************

Miroku walked into the kitchen of the mansion, only to find, much to his dismay, that Emma was cooking dinner. "Hey there, sexy!" She exclaimed.

"Hey Emma."

The bubbly brunette girl looked behind him. "I see your wife hasn't come back yet."

"Nope." Miroku said, stripping off his work shirt to reveal a white tank top along with a very nice physique. He was doing his best to ignore Emma, it was her fault all of this started.

"You must be lonely…" Emma said seductively. "My room's empty tonight, too. If you want to keep me company I--"

"No…" Miroku refused her, then pressed the up button on the elevator. Damn, Nelly really needed to get this thing fixed, it was so slow and taking the stairs was staring to get faster.

Thankfully, the door slid open and told Emma by the look in his eyes that he didn't not want her joining him. A long elevator ride to the 23rd floor seemed to take forever and when the doors dinged open he stepped out and pulled out his key to open the door to a quiet and lonely home.

He collapsed backward on the sofa, not even wanting to go into the bedroom. Maybe if he slept out here and pretended he had just dozed off on the couch he could get through one more night of loneliness.

Miroku had hoped he would come home and find Sango waiting on him in the living room, or perhaps even better, in the bedroom. But he came home to his worst fear and what he knew all along, an empty apartment.

Plus on top of that, he was starving and didn't feel like lounging around the apartment all night with nothing to do. So he pushed himself off the sofa and headed back towards the door.

He had the day off tomorrow from work and he didn't plan on stepping foot back into that apartment until way later, after he had gotten Sango off his mind.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

_Sango sat in the front row of the magic show, pleased to see that Akira and Hitomi were mesmerized by the flashes of light and fire that was on stage. This would keep them occupied for at least a while._

_The man on stage, which had called himself Wayne Brady took a bow and removed his hat. "Thank you! Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, please give a round of applause to…Rob El Greato!"_

_Hitomi pointed up on stage. "Wow, he looks different…"_

"_Yea…" Akira said, then. "Uh oh…"_

_Those were two words parents never wanted to hear and Sango glanced down at her. "What's 'uh oh' for?"_

"_I have to go to the bathroom." She told her, giving Sango her biggest puppy dog eyes under that pitch black hair that was so much like Miroku's._

_Sango sighed and picked her up. "Hitomi, stay close to me, I--Miroku!"_

_Miroku appeared in front of her, and she was so shocked to see him she didn't even sound angry when she said his name. Great, and just when he was about get her off his mind. Well, seeing her wasn't a bad thing, it never was. "I'm just as surprised to see you."_

_Akira wriggled out of her arms and as soon as her feet hit the ground she ran towards Miroku who lifted her up. "You came to see the magic show?"_

"_Yea." Sango replied. "I got free tickets from one of the performers."_

_Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, 'Mr. El Greato' gave you tickets, hm?"_

"_Yes. Miroku, don't start with me tonight. Akira has to use the bathroom and I don't want to miss the show."_

_He stepped out of her way politely and handed her Akira, then watched as she strolled towards the strip mall. _

"_You take Hitomi back to the show, alright?" Sango asked, more like a demand, which he was planning to do anyway. The tone of her voice told him she was still angry with him._

_He turned back around and took Sango's seat, even though he didn't have a ticket and he looked up at Rob who was doing some elaborate magic trick on stage. The guy was so mundane that he half expected him to pull a rabbit out of a hat, or have doves fly out of his armpits. _

_Rob looked down off stage and noticed Miroku and got the feeling that must have been her husband she told him about. He looked like the type that would cheat. As far as Rob was concerned, Miroku was an idiot for cheating on Sango and that's when he realized he would like to be with her himself._

_But maybe she had forgiven him, though he didn't deserve it and that's why he was sitting where he was now. He wouldn't know anything until he got off stage. _

_Sango returned with Akira and Rob was grateful to see that Miroku just gave up and left. He couldn't help but wear a smile on his face, though Sango looked a bit distressed by the fact he was gone now._

_She was a little disappointed he didn't stay and try to talk to her. Maybe he truly wanted things to be over between them. Which was fine, because after the way he's been acting she wanted that too. Then again, she did miss the stupid lecherous monk._

_Apparently, getting shot and almost dying due to some jealous admirer wasn't enough to seal the bond between the two of them and he still found the need to cheat on her. Maybe she had become less desirable after she had children, or maybe he was getting tired of her, like she had always thought he would._

_She honestly felt like Miroku Keseki, her companion, her husband and the father of her children, didn't love her anymore. She suddenly felt depressed and the glitzy magic show did nothing to brighten her mood._

_There was a loud sound and fire shot up out of the stage, then Rob took a bow and the curtains closed. Sango pushed Miroku from her mind and clapped, then saw him as he ascended off stage with two balloon animals for Akira and Hitomi. "For you."_

_Akira smiled and took the blue balloon dog, while Hitomi took the pink one. Sango kneeled down next to them. "Say Thank you."_

"_Thank you." They both said in unison, then proceeded to fight over which colour they wanted. Sango smiled and stood up again, only to have Rob, somehow, magically pull a red rose from his sleeve._

"_This is for you." He said, smiling._

_Sango blushed and took the rose from his hand and held it to her nose. "Wow. Thank you."_

"_My pleasure." Rob said. Sango felt awkward, she knew he had seen Miroku and their little squabble they had right in the middle of his show. She probably looked like one of those single parents with the complicated marital problems that no one ever wanted anything to do with. _

"_I'm really sorry about my husband. I--"_

"_What about your husband?" A male voice sounded from behind them and Sango didn't even have to turn around to realize it was Miroku who was so confidently leaned against a pole. "You know, it's funny how every time we come to this side of the beach you're always walking around with some guy."_

"_What are you talking about?" Sango asked._

"_Howard." Miroku replied matter-of-factly. "At the fair 7 years ago."_

_Sango sighed dramatically. "Miroku, that was 7 long years ago. We weren't even together then. That was before we knew he was completely psycho."_

_Rob watched the two argue for a good 10 minutes along with Akira and Hitomi, the three didn't have a clue what they were talking about_

"_Maybe we weren't together than. But I still liked you, and you completely dismissed me that night for Howard. That was the night we first kissed though, remember?" He looked at her hands. "Where did that rose come from?"_

_Sango folded her arms. "Yea, and it was a mistake. A big, fat, huge mistake! And Rob gave me the rose."_

_Miroku scowled. "How do you always manage to piss me off?" He wasn't quite yelling, but his voice was raised. _

"_You're causing a scene." She said. "And you're upsetting the girls."_

"_You're the one who's hanging out with Mr. 'El Greato' over here." Miroku said, not liking the way he was looking at Sango. "If he's the next Howard Bailey, I'm going to fucking scream."_

"_Ok, wait, wait, wait…" Rob stopped the both of them and Miroku was surprised he had the nerve to butt into their argument. He was clearly sticking his nose where it didn't belong, but he had to know what they were talking about it, it was absolutely killing him. "Who's Howard?"_

_Sango and Miroku exchanged glances, for once not arguing. Akira and Hitomi seemed to have gotten bored and were now trying to pop each other's balloon animals. _

"_Well," Sango began. "he's kind of, sort of, an ex-boyfriend of mine. He's kind of evil, but he's a saint compared to __him" _She said, pointing to Miroku.

Miroku glared at her. "Yea, well Raven's a saint compared to you. At least she's not jealous all the time!"

Rob glanced at them. "Who's Raven?"

If look could kill, the monk could have killed the magician with the look he was giving him by now. "My ex, from a long, long, _long_ time ago."

"Oh." Rob said. "OK, I think I got everything straightened out. Now, if you don't mind I would like to continue my walk with Sango-chan?"

Miroku glanced at him. "Hey, she's my wife!"

"I don't want to go home with you, Miroku." Sango cut him short, she could tell he was about to slip back in 'Macho Monk Mode', and she didn't feel like putting up with it. "You're wasting your time!"

The houshi's mouth fell open as she practically dragged Rob along, not once glancing back at him. His girls fallowed closely behind her and Miroku considered twice jumping Rob and pounding his face into the ground. "Fine, go on without me! I'll be at _home_, if you start to miss me."

Sango felt something in her heart for a quick instant. She did miss Miroku and if she was completely honest with herself, she did want to go home and be with him again. She wanted to have the feeling of a complete family again like she had missed when her family had been killed. Sango hadn't felt complete again until the day she found out she was pregnant, and with twins at that.

She remembered how excited she was just because she was going to start a family of her own with the one and only man she truly loved. And she still loved him. Which is exactly why she couldn't go back. She loved him to much for him to hurt her again.

"Do you miss him?" Rob asked, bringing Sango back to reality as they walked along the beach.

She looked a bit lost for a moment then looked down at her feet in the darkness. "Yes, but I'm not going back. I'm not going allow myself to be hurt again. He thinks I'll come back and that's his whole problem. I've taken him back so many times before he thinks he can do whatever he wants and I'll just allow him to do it."

"You deserve better than that." Rob said. "You're too beautiful and too sweet to be hurt like that."

Sango smiled bashfully. "Thank you."

"No problem." He said, taking the rose from her hands and tearing the long stem from it, then placed the flowery bud in her hair. Sango froze. That's exactly what Miroku used to do, back when he was still fascinated by her. Kami, she missed those days. "You look beautiful like that."

"Thank you…" Sango said, as she held onto both her girls hands. Akira was still looking for that jellyfish. "But…I know you don't mean it."

"Why wouldn't I mean it?" Rob asked. "If I didn't think you were beautiful I wouldn't have given you free tickets to my show. Maybe half price, but not free." He chuckled.

Sango giggled. "No one could possibly think I'm beautiful. Not if my own husband decided to cheat on me." Her voice was low and shaky and Rob was afraid she might have been ready to cry.

He allowed a smile to come to his face and Sango could see the expression in his eyes underneath the moonlight. "How about we go out to dinner tomorrow night and I show you?"

Her steps faltered, along with her voice. "Uhm, well…"

"I'm not asking for anything romantic. Just dinner, maybe a movie." He said. "I understand, you know, because of the girls and all."

"Maybe just dinner…" Sango said, smiling. "The girls are actually staying with…their father…" She laced the word with heavy disdain. "I'll be happy too."

"Great!" Rob exclaimed. " 6:30, OK?"

"Yes."

"Alright! Well, uhm…mind if I walk you to your car? I would hate to leave you three out here on the beach alone at night."

Sango smiled and realized that Miroku hadn't even cared how they had gotten home. Stupid jerk! "I would like that." She responded.

************************************************************************

Miroku walked into the main entrance of the building only to hear loud cackling from inside the main living room. Then Amber burst into the kitchen, hoping to see Sango, but as soon as she saw it was Miroku her face fell. "Oh, sorry I thought you were Sango-chan…"

The monk raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, sorry to disappoint you. What's all the commotion about."

"Well," Amber said, not really wanting to talk to him. "I guess I have to tell you since you're going to be the best man…Me and Nelly are getting engaged and we set a date a 2 weeks from now."

"Wow." Miroku said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." She said politely. "Where's Sango? I want to tell her."

"Buddha only knows…" The houshi said bitterly. "She's talking to some guy named Rob."

Hayden bounded into the kitchen behind Amber. "The completely, dreamy magician guy that works down the beach?"

Miroku folded his arms and looked at her. Oh, so what? She didn't find him "dreamy" anymore. That was always the word she used to describe _him_ and only him.

"Yea, he's a magician, a crappy one." He replied.

"Oh! Someone's jealous!" Amber teased the monk. "Jealousy is unflattering for you, houshi-sama."

Miroku forced himself to chuckle. "I'm not jealous! She can have him if she wants him, it doesn't bother me." He turned from them. "I'm going up to my room, if Sango comes in looking for me I'm up there."

"Alright, houshi-sama." Amber said, watching him walk slowly towards the elevator. "Poor guy, he looks miserable."

************************************************************************

Miroku's phone rang out, piercing the silence of the apartment and he didn't even open his eyes to see if the sun had risen yet. He groped blindly for his cell phone which he had laid on the coffee table the night before when he dozed off on the couch.

After a few seconds of searching for it, he picked it up and punched the talk button. "Hello?"

"Hey, Miroku, it's me."

He sat up straight. "Sango!" Thank Buddha! She called maybe she's coming back home.

"Listen, I need you to take the girls to school. My car won't start."

Miroku's heart sank. "Is that all?"

"Well, it has a funny smell to it, too and--"

"Sango, is that all you called me for?"

There was a pause on the other end. "Yes."

"Alright." He said, sighing. "I'll be over there, give me 20 minutes."

"OK, bye." And she hung up.

Miroku stared down at the screen at the cell ended message for a moment. "She could have at least said I love you…" He slipped his phone into his pocket. "Or maybe she doesn't."

He grabbed his keys off the coffee table and realized that his dishes were piling up in the sink. Well, there's one thing he didn't know how to do and that was wash dishes. Maybe Hayden, or Raven who was still in love with him, would be kind enough to do it for him. He'd ask later.

Miroku exited the apartment and waited for the elevator to reach his floor, which took forever. Once the doors opened his stepped inside and rode down until he was in the main living room of the building. Time to play it cool, Miroku.

"Good morning, all."

"Good morning!" Nelly said excitedly as Amber brought him his breakfast. "How's it going?"

"Never been better." Miroku replied.

"You want anything to eat, man?" Nelly asked.

"Maybe when I come back. I have to take Akira and Hitomi to school." Miroku said. "Sango's car isn't working…"

Nelly raised an eyebrow. "Is that the only reason she called you?"

"That's the only reason she speaks to me now, it seems like." He said, feeling a little depressed. "She only talks to me if it has to do with the kids." He sighed and glanced at the clock. "I better hurry…I told her I'd be there in 20 minutes. I'll be back."

************************************************************************

Sango stood outside, fastening a ribbon in Hitomi's hair. Akira had already pulled hers out and looked up at Sango with a look of pure aggravation.

"I wish you would wear pretty bows in your hair…" Sango said, sighing. "I suppose you get that from me. I never liked it either." She said, smoothing out her dark hair just as Miroku's camero pulled to the curb. Her heart started to race as he stepped out of the car.

He pulled off his sunglasses and tucked them in his shirt. "What's wrong with the car?"

"It just won't start." Sango said, wanting him to just take the girls and leave. Having him around was quite nerve-wracking as it was.

"You want me to take a look at it?" Miroku offered, but she quickly shook her head.

"No. I'll get someone else to look at it."

The monk felt slightly offended. "Maybe Mr. El Greato can fix it up with his magical powers…'

"Miroku…"

"Sorry." He apologized. OK, So Amber was right. He was jealous. And because he was jealous he was being an asshole, which Sango really didn't deserve that. Acting this way wasn't going to get her back.

"It was acting funny the other night and yes, Rob did look at it, but it wasn't anything serious. I think it's just low on gas."

"You need money to fill it up?"

"No."

He sighed. "Alright."

Sango handed the girls their lunchboxes. "Go with daddy and be good today, alright?"

"Alright." Akira said, rushing off towards his car and yanking open the door. She attempted to crawl in the backseat by herself and of course, Miroku had let her do it.

"Miroku, she could hurt herself doing that."

He chuckled and helped her along, then lifted Hitomi in the backseat. "Don't be such a worry-wart. You killed demons when you were her age." He smiled at her and it took everything in her not to smile back into those wintry blue eyes.

"Just be careful. Make sure they're buckled into their car seat. And you better wear your seatbelt too!" Sango warned him.

"Don't worry. I'm responsible…" The monk called out the window, slipping his sunglasses back over his eyes, then he drove away playing "I like big butts" which was his self-proclaimed theme song.

He was so immature and yet, for some reason, she missed the way he was. It had only been two days since they had been split up. Why did he have to be such a womanizer?

"Idiot…" Sango muttered and stepped back into the house.

************************************************************************

Miroku walked through the double doors of the preschool building and led his girls to the classroom. Hitomi clutched onto his jeans while Akira skipped right in and started talking to her friends.

A young woman stood up from behind a desk and walked over to him. Miroku once again pulled off his sunglasses and a smile came to her face. "Hi."

"Hi…uhm are the substitute?" He asked.

"I'm an intern." She said, leaning against the wall. She handed him a clipboard. "Just sign them in here, and then put her signature over here." The woman explained, straightening her hair, her brown eyes never left his face.

"Alright." Miroku said, doing as she said, then looked up at her. "I've only dropped them off here a few times before, but I don't believe I've seen you."

She giggled shyly and held out her hand. "I'm Alyssa."

He gave her a charming, crooked smile and shook her hand. "Miroku Keseki. I'm Hitomi and Akira's father."

"They're adorable little girls. I just started here yesterday." She said shyly. "I'm kind of nervous about working with children though."

"You'll do fine. Don't worry, they won't break." Miroku said, propping one shoulder against the wall, then he realized he had probably overstayed his welcome. "Well, I suppose I'll be by to pick them up this afternoon."

"I thought I saw a brunette woman come and pick them up yesterday. Was that your wife?" Alyssa asked.

"Uh…yea. Well, sort of." He said, stammering. "We're kind of…separated. Not legally or anything, as of yet, anyway. But, I'm taking them home for the weekend."

"Oh." Alyssa said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, it's alright." Miroku said, waving her apology off. There was an awkward silence and then he tossed his keys in the air nervously. "Well, I better be off. Bye for now."

"Bye, Mr. Keseki." Alyssa said, watching him walk out of the room and into the hallway. Her heart was racing and she was very happy to hear that he was separated. Maybe, with a little luck, she could get to know him better.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sango was helping Sakura prepare dinner at around noon when she heard the roar of an engine pull up outside. Her blood ran cold.

Sakura peered over at her. "Is that Miroku?"

The brunette rolled her eyes and sighed. "I think so. I better go see what he wants…" She said and Sakura simply smiled. It reminded her of the old times when her and Brock had their problems. But in the end everything worked out. She just hoped that the monk and the demon slayer could find the same peace and tranquility that she had found in her life.

Sango opened the sliding glass door that led out to the front yard and not much to her surprise she found Miroku leaning against his car. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

"I came here to take a look at your car." Miroku said. "I'm not going to have you driving around Japan in a car that could conk out on you at any given moment." He said, popping the hood on her car, without her permission. Sango just sighed miserably.

He pulled off his shirt and Sango rolled her eyes. What was he trying to do now? Stupid monk. "What are you doing?"

"Looking at your engine. When's that last time you had the oil changed?"

"2 weeks ago. Remember, _you_ changed it for me." She said.

"Oh yea…" Miroku said, grinning. "Maybe it's the alternator."

Sango buried her face in her hands. She really didn't feel like discussing cars with Miroku right now. "I don't even know what that is!"

"Could be your battery." He muttered, checking the clamps on the battery. "But you just replaced that a year ago."

"I know." Sango said. "Don't you have to go pick up the girls?"

Miroku pointed to his watch. "It's noon, honey. Why do you want me gone so badly?" He peered over at her with those shimmering blue eyes and Sango felt her entire body just want to melt.

A fall breeze blew and Sango shivered, and she longed to be pulled close to his magnificent male body. "Aren't you cold?" She asked.

"No." He said, not taking his eyes off her. "You didn't answer my question…"

"What question?"

"Why you keep rushing me out of here like I have to go to a fire." Miroku said, slamming her hood shut.

"Because I know your only here to try and get me back."

Miroku leaned against her car. "No I'm not. I wanted to check your car. Make sure your safe."

Sango glanced at him, feeling extremely disappointed. "You mean…you didn't come by and try to get me to come back home?"

"Sango, that's something you're going to have to do on your own." Miroku said. "My door…_our_ door, is always open to you and our girls."

She bit her lip pensively and she wondered if she should tell Miroku about her 'date'. Well, she was pretty pissed off that he wasn't over here trying to win her back. This was one time she really wouldn't have minded if he did anything and everything to get into her pants. She_ wanted_ him to beg for her back, but he just wasn't.

He was so calm and collected all the time and it absolutely maddened her. "You're still taking to girls tonight, right?"

"Yep." Miroku said. "I'll keep them all weekend if you want."

"That's great." Sango said, turning her gaze away from him. "Because…I have a date tonight."

Miroku's face turned white, along with his knuckles. His voice cracked and he lost his cool demeanor. "A date?"

"Yes. Rob's taking me to dinner." Sango said, pleased that he was showing a little jealousy.

"I'm going to kill that guy." Miroku said, pounding his fist against her car.

"Hey, watch it!" Sango shrieked. "And you have no right to be jealous. We're not together anymore."

The monk pivoted on one foot and looked at her. "That doesn't mean you can go on some date with some guy you barely even know!"

"And why not?"

"Because…" Miroku trailed off. "Well, because you…"

Sango turned towards the house and nodded. "Exactly."

"You don't _know_ him, Sango!" The houshi exclaimed. "He could be some kind of weirdo. And I can't believe you had him around my girls!"

Sango whirled around, her anger snapped. "Oh! Like your Mr. responsible. You don't even tell out children to wear seatbelts in the car."

"I do so! I did this morning!" Miroku retorted.

"Because _I_, the responsible parent, was watching!" Sango snapped back.

Miroku ran his fingers through his hair. "You know, Sango. You're right. Apparently, we can't live together. Maybe we should get a divorce."

Sango was quiet for a moment. Why did they always have to fight? Why couldn't either one of them just control their tempers. Miroku wasn't acting very monkish lately, of course, when did he ever act 'monkish'? Never, at least, when she could recall.

"Just go, Miroku. This isn't our home, we can have at least enough respect for Mr. and Mrs. Harrison not to fight in their front yard."

"Fine!" Miroku said, stomping towards his car. "Don't worry, I'll get the girls at 3. Have fun on your _date_." He angrily opened the door to his camero and he laced the last word with such hate that Sango just felt like slapping him. The sound of his wheels was sharp and high-pitched as he sped of leaving tire tacks on the asphalt.

Sango watched him until he disappeared down the road, speeding of course, trying to act like leaving her behind along with those hateful words didn't hurt him at all. She shook it off. So what? He left. Big deal!

She had more important things to worry about, like what she was going to wear.

************************************************************************

Miroku parked in front of the preschool just before 3:00. He had gotten their early because he knew if he was late, Hitomi would cry and think that he left her there for the rest of her life. The parking lot was just about full of other parents' cars, but he managed to squeeze his sleek sports car into a space.

It was nice having a small car, and to think Sango wanted him to get rid of it when the children came along. His expression darkened. Why couldn't he go 5 seconds without thinking about her? He was angrier than hell, yet he still missed the way she felt in his arms.

And tonight she would be out with another man, making the heads turn of every man in whichever place he was taking her. Just like she used to do with him. Now Rob would be the one to be envied, and not him.

Plus, fighting with her just enforced her decision to go out with him. He was such a fool.

He pushed open one of the door of the school and walked to the classroom, suddenly remembering Alyssa. Well, she _was_ attractive. She had nothing on Sango, but she was…pretty, he supposed.

Hitomi was the first to leap up out of 'story time circle' to greet him, and he smiled down at her. Alyssa looked up at him from her book and smiled. "I'll be with you in just a second…"

"Take your time." Miroku said, lifting Hitomi up as he waited for her to finish the thin, hard-backed book.

After she was done, Akira stood up and quickly ran over to her father. "Where's mommy?" She asked.

Miroku peered down at her. "I came to get you. You're coming back home with me all weekend."

Alyssa handed him the clipboard with a smile. He smiled back at her and wrote their names and his signature in the boxes. "I hope they weren't too much trouble."

Alyssa giggled. "Oh! Are you kidding? They are little angels. It's the boys I have to worry about…" She said, smiling at him.

He gave her another handsome smile just like he had earlier that morning. "Boys will be boys…" He said, winking at her.

"Oh, yes. I almost forgot. I need to see an ID for pickups. It's not that I don't trust you…I just…" Alyssa trailed off.

"I understand." He said, smiling. Miroku reached in his pocket for his wallet. He showed her is driver's license and she grinned.

"Wow. Most people look like hell in their license. You look absolutely gorgeous."

The monk laughed and slipped his license back in his wallet. "I try…" He said, handing her back the clipboard. Well, if Sango could have a date, so could he. "Hey, listen, what are you doing tonight?"

"Tonight?" Alyssa asked, feeling her heart leap in her throat. "Uhm, nothing…why?"

Miroku shrugged and tried to appear nonchalant, as if he did this all the time. Actually the last time he asked a girl out, it was Raven and that was right before he asked Sango to marry him. "Just wondering if you maybe wanted to go out somewhere. I have friends that will baby sit for me if you want to go, so don't worry about that."

"Oh, Well, Mr. Keseki…I…I don't know what to say…"

"Then say yes…" He said, smoothly.

"Ok…YES!" She exclaimed, happily and could no longer control her joy.

Miroku tried to stifle a grin. He hoped he hadn't just asked a 16 year old girl on a date, but she had to be at least college age. "Alright, so I'll pick you up at 7:30?"

"How about 7?" She asked.

"Well, alright." Miroku agreed. "7 it is."

"Here's my phone number." She said, jotting it down on a piece of paper and handing it to him. "See you tonight, cutie." She skipped away and tried to compose herself before the other parents arrived and he walked away, folding the piece of paper and slipping it in his back pocket.

"Well, that went well." He said, mostly to himself.

Akira tugged on his shirt and he looked down at her. "Isn't mommy going to be mad you got Ms. Alyssa's phone number?"

Miroku paused for a moment to think as he opened up the door to his car and lifted Hitomi in. "Nah. Mommy won't care." He told her as he watched Akira struggle to get in the back seat. "Need some help?"

"No. I can do it."

"Don't hurt yourself." Miroku said smiling. "If you do, your mother will kill me. Oh, and seatbelts."

Miroku reached back and clicked both of their belts around them. He wasn't irresponsible like Sango thought he was! Damn that woman really pissed him off sometimes.

He pulled out onto the road. "How would you girls like to spend an evening with Uncle Nelly and Aunty Amber?"

Akira's eyes lit up. "Can we have chocolate cake for dinner again like last time they watched us?"

"Alright." Miroku agreed. "But don't tell mommy." He said, pretending to zip his mouth closed, and Akira did the same.

Hitomi looked over at her sister, then at her father. "I miss mommy."

Miroku stared ahead at the road and felt a lump rise in his throat. Akira always made him laugh, but it was Hitomi who really pulled at his heartstrings sometimes. "I miss her, too." He said truthfully, suddenly not knowing why he had asked Alyssa out on that date.

"When is she coming back home, daddy?" Hitomi asked, clutching onto her teddy bear.

The houshi didn't know what to say to her. It was the little ones that always suffered when two parents couldn't get along. "Whenever she realizes I still love her…" Miroku said, more to himself them to Hitomi. As if she would understand… She didn't understand anything really except that her mommy and daddy weren't getting along.

They were almost back home to the apartment building by the time Akira said anything. "Daddy…"

"What, Akira?" He asked, trying not to sound agitated.

"Do you hate mommy?'

Miroku parked rather crookedly in front of the building and peered back at her. "No, Akira. I don't hate her. Now, enough questions. Let's go and ask Uncle Nelly if he wants to baby sit."

************************************************************************

"Well, well," Sakura said smiling. "Glad to see your not letting the grass grow under your feet." The older, yet very youthful looking half fox demon woman smiled at her as Sango exited the guest room in a very short and flirty red dress. Her dark hair was styled into large curls, and she paired the dress with a pair of very high red heels.

Brock eyed her from the kitchen table. "I hope this magic guy's taking you somewhere nice. He should when you look that stunning."

The dark blue-haired woman eyed her husband. "Eyes back in your head Brock. She's young enough to be your daughter."

Brock turned his attention back to his newspaper immediately. "Miroku's a fool. I can't believe I helped him out all those years ago."

Sango blushed shyly. "Thank you, Mr. Harrison." She said, glancing up at the clock on the wall. "Oh, Rob will be here any minute. How do I look?"

"If wasn't too old, or too married…" Brock said, peeking over the newspaper. Sakura eyed him dangerously and he simply grinned, then she smiled at Sango.

"You look astonishing, dear. I bet if Miroku saw you now he would kick himself the rear!" Sakura said, handing her, her purse.

The doorbell rang and Sango was expecting the flutter in her heart, but it never came. Damn that monk! He ruined her entire day by acting like such an asshole earlier!

Sakura answered the door and smiled when she saw Rob at the door, dressed up very nicely with a large, fresh bouquet of lilies. "Oh, wow. C'mon in. Sango's in the living room." She led him through the foyer and Sango stood by the couch, trying to stand tall and straight.

She had been married for so long she forgot what it was like to go out with another guy.

Rob smiled and handed her the flowers. "Wow. You look incredible."

Sango took the bouquet and smelled the lilies. "Thank you." She smiled shyly and turned to Sakura. "Can you put these in a vase with water, please?"

"Of course." Sakura said, taking the flowers from her and throwing her own roses Brock had bought her out of the vase on the kitchen table.

"Sakura!" Brock protested. "I brought you those."

"Oh, Brock! They were half-dead when you bought them and that was two weeks ago." Sakura retorted. "Dollar store flowers…give me a break."

Brock shook his newspaper and Sango grinned shyly at Rob. She missed the way her and Miroku would have their little spats like that. Enough of him! She scolded herself. Rob's here and he looks amazing. (Get it together, girl. You're on a date!)

Sakura walked out of the kitchen with the lilies in a glass vase. "I'll put these in your room, dear. Now don't stand around here all night. Go out and have fun!"

"Right." Sango said.

Rob offered his arm and she wrapped her arm around his. "Shall we?"

He led her out the door and they closed the front door behind them with a click.

Rob laughed as he opened the passenger door of his slightly less, ostentatious ride. Which happened to be a white mustang. "Your parents are funny."

Sango slipped in and smiled up at him shyly. "Oh, they're not my parents."

He sidled into the driver's side next to her just a few seconds later and revved his engine to life. "Oh? Are you adopted?"

"Well, not exactly. My…mother died when I was very young, and then my father when I was a little older." She said, leaving out the grim details. Sometimes she almost forgot she wasn't from this era. She had lived there so long, and made a life there, along with Miroku that she felt like she had been in the modern era her entire life.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Rob said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "Well, they seem like nice people."

"They are wonderful. They've been like my parents for the past few years. I moved here when I was 18." Sango said, telling him the age she had actually fallen through the well along with Miroku on the day their little spat like seemed like forever ago.

Well, it was forever ago, actually.

"From where?" Rob asked, making a left turn.

"Uh…" Sango stalled for a moment. (Think, Sango, think!) "Kyoto. Yes, I'm from Kyoto…originally…" She stammered.

Rob laughed. "Oh, nice city. You nervous or something?" He asked. "Your stuttering."

"A little." Sango choked out. "So, uhm, where are we going?"

"Well, there's this really cool dance night out at Kinokawa Steakhouse. You ever been there?"

Sango froze. "Once." Yea, on the same night Miroku proposed to you. Great. She forced a smile. "It's pretty nice."

Rob smiled. "Then we'll go there then. Have some dinner, dance for a little bit. Then I'll take you home if you like."

"That sounds nice." She said, and realized his arm was still around her shoulder. And he didn't move it until they arrived at the restaurant.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hayden let out a low whistle when Miroku walked down the stairs just before 6:30. "Wow. You look amazing."

Raven smiled and agreed very quickly. "Sexy is the correct word, I believe."

Miroku adjusted his tie and Hayden eyed him, twirling a lock of blond hair in her finger. "Sango doesn't know what she lost."

The monk smiled at the younger girl with confidence. "Hey, I'm having martial problems, but I'm not dead."

Raven dreamily leaned against the fridge and admired him from across the kitchen. "If only you were taking _me_ out tonight."

He grinned over at her and Hayden. "Well, if things don't go well with Alyssa, I'll let you ladies know." He told both of his exes, who were still constantly fighting over his affection. The news about his separating with Sango seemed to only fuel their feud.

He gave them both a wink and sent them into a fit of giggles, then he kneeled down next to his daughters who were coloring at the table. "Alright, you two. Be good. I won't be gone long."

"Bye daddy." Akira said, not looking up from her Sailor moon coloring book, but Hitomi had tears in her eyes.

"Don't leave, daddy." She begged him.

Miroku gave her a small smile. "I told you no crying, alright? Draw me a pretty picture and I'll hang it up on the fridge when I get home, OK?"

Hitomi turned around and stole a yellow crayon from Akira. "Hey! I was using that."

"I want it!" Hitomi protested.

"And no fighting!" Miroku said, firmly. "I love you." He kissed them both of the cheek, and Akira wiped hers off.

As soon as they heard the door shut, Akira reached over and yanked the crayon out of Hitomi's hand. "I'm the older one, so I get it first."

************************************************************************

Miroku knocked on Alyssa's front door five minutes before 6:30, and he waited five minutes until she answered the door.

"Mr. Keseki!" Alyssa exclaimed, twirling in her dress. "How do I look?"

"Absolutely gorgeous." He proclaimed, winking. "I made reservations. Do you like to dance?"

Alyssa's brown eyes lit up. "I love to dance!"

"Good news." He said, opening the passenger door to his car. "I made reservations at the Kinokawa steak house. Friday night is dance night, so I figured it would be a good way to break the ice."

"Oh wow." Alyssa said smiling. "That's a great idea. I love your car."

"Yep." Miroku said, sliding into the driver's seat. "She's a beauty. You know my wife actually wanted me to get rid of this thing?" Oh great, there he goes again. Thinking about Sango. He didn't want to be described as 'the bad date, where all he did was talk about his ex-wife all night long' kind of date. He had to stop. No more thinking about _her_ for the rest of the night.

"Why?" Alyssa asked.

"When Akira and Hitomi came along. She thought I would show off in it and hurt them or something…" Miroku said. "Which, I mean…well…I do like to show it off." He said smiling.

"You don't need a car to make you sexy, though. You already are."

"This I know." He said, grinning at her and then slipped his arm around her shoulders. It felt so weird to touch another woman like this after such a long time of being with only one. It was so foreign and he was almost uncomfortable with it.

Most of the ride to the restaurant was filled with Alyssa rambling on about herself and her family, but Miroku stayed quiet most of the time. Miroku was afraid if he tried to say something he would end up just talking about Sango, because that's all he could think about.

What the hell was wrong with him? He was on a date, with a moderately attractive female and all he could think about was Sango, when she was on a date with some crazy magician guy that had somehow convinced himself he was good enough to have his own show?

His jealousy was talking now.

"Oh, Mr. Keseki, you almost passed the restaurant!" Alyssa jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Oh! Sorry…" He said, feeling sheepish. He slowed his car down and pulled into the large parking lot. "Wow, this place is packed."

"I hope we can find a space." Alyssa commented, scanning the parking lot for any open spaces. "Oh! I think I see one right next to that white mustang."

"Ah, good eye." Miroku said smiling, and he swung his car into the space. "I'll let you out." He said, getting out of his car and then walking to the other side to let her out.

She smiled up at him shyly and he helped her out, then he placed his lips to her hand and winked at her. "You look absolutely beautiful."

Alyssa blushed and wanted to giggle at the feeling of his lips on her hand. This man was radiating sex appeal and she suddenly found herself wanting to pull him back in the car, but she didn't want to seem fast. "Thank you, Mr. Keseki."

"Call me, Miroku." He said, smiling. "We're on a date, remember?"

This caused her to blush even further. "Oh, right. Miroku." She tested his name on her tongue and she liked the way it sounded, she liked saying it. He opened the door for her and allowed her to enter first then he fallowed.

They were seated immediately, seeing as they had reservations and everything was going just fine. In fact, Miroku hadn't thought about _her_ in a record-breaking two minutes. Then he turned his head.

Across the fancy restaurant, he saw her sitting at a table with Rob. Talking to him, and appearing to have a good time. If not being with him anymore hurt her at all, she hadn't showed it yet at all. Maybe she didn't miss him.

"Miroku?"

The houshi turned his gaze towards Alyssa who was looking at him expectantly. "Huh?"

"Is something the matter, you seem distracted." She said, concern filled her voice.

Miroku opened his menu. Maybe he could decided what he wanted to eat instead of looking at Sango, that might help. "I'm fine. I guess…I'm just worried about the girls." He lied, he knew they would be fine. It was Sango he was worried about.

"Oh…" She smiled. "That's one of the things I love about you. You're a devoted father and your girls love you. You're wife has let go of a good man."

Miroku gave her a crooked smile. "Thank you." He said, resisting the urge to turn his head and stare at her again. He focused on his menu, focusing on just reading the different dishes, not really deciding what he wanted. He couldn't think right now, he wasn't even sure if he could eat.

A man came up to the table and placed two napkins down in front of them. "Hello, My name's Clifford Harris, I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with anything to drink?"

Miroku looked at Alyssa and smiled. "Ladies first."

She smiled back at him. "Just water for me."

Miroku quickly decided. "Coke, please."

"Alright, I'll be back." Clifford said, taking off towards the back of the restaurant. As soon as the waiter left and the menus were gone, his distraction had left, and now his head was turned to the side, watching Sango again.

"Miroku…"

Miroku turned his attention back to Alyssa. "Alyssa…I'm sorry…"

"What's the matter?" She asked. "Is it me?"

"No it's not you." He said, sighing. "My wife, ex-wife…whatever she is right now…she's here."

Alyssa looked in his direction and saw her sitting at the table. "Oh. That's her?" She asked.

"Yea." He said, his voice was far off and his violet-blue eyes were glued to her. He couldn't seem to look away. The last time she had her hair fixed like that it was their wedding night, and now he was thinking about that. Just great.

Sango couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and she slowly turned her head, only to find Miroku was staring at her. "Oh my god…" She muttered.

"What?" Rob asked, taking a bite of rice.

"My husband's here and he's…" she trailed off when he eyes met Alyssa's. "He's with another woman…" Why did she feel like crying all of the sudden?

Rob looked over, his gaze met Miroku's for a quick instance, but even from across the room, the monk's intense look of disdain seemed to burn lasers right through his very soul. "Hey, sweety. He's not worth it. Let him be with her. I'm going to show you how you should be treated tonight." He promised her, softly.

Sango looked at him from across the table and smiled. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't worry about him." She said. "He should be at home with the girls. I hope he was responsible enough to get someone to baby-sit."

Rob doubted that the guy had a responsible bone in his body, but he didn't want her to worry. "I'm sure he did." he said. "You want some desert?"

Desert. Oh, desert sounded nice. Nothing better than chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream when your chest felt like it's going to collapse. But then again, maybe she need to watch her weight if Miroku found her that repulsive that he would kiss another woman, not beg for her forgiveness, then go out on a date with yet another women all in 3 days.

3 days? Has it only been that long since they split up? It felt like an eternity for Sango. She glanced over his way very briefly and saw that they were just getting their dinner. "Sure." She replied, after a long moment.

"What do you feel like?" Rob asked.

(I feel like stomping right over there and yanking that bitch's hair out and then punching that two-timing monk right in the face!) Sango picked up the desert menu on the side of the table. "That brownie fudge cake looks really good." (And really fattening. No wonder Miroku didn't want her anymore).

"You know," Rob said grinning. "I heard chocolate really puts women in the mood."

Sango looked up at him. What was he? A modern-day Miroku? "No such luck with me tonight. Sorry."

Rob shrugged. "It was worth a try." He said, grinning. "I still get a dance though, right?"

She peered over at Miroku momentarily. She was so distracted by him, mostly by the way he looked, that she wasn't even angry Rob had pretty much asked her to go to bed with him tonight. (Kami, Miroku is so sexy.) Her heart shattered all over again. (And he doesn't want me anymore…) "Of course." Sango told him.

"Great." He said smiling. The waiter came by and he gave him the order for the desert than turned his attention to Sango. "Sorry If I offended you, Sango. I didn't mean for you to sleep with me. I know you're not ready for that right now."

Well, not like she wasn't _wanting_ it, but not with him. "No, it's alright. I'm just a little distracted by him being here with her. That's all." She said. "He's moved on so fast…"

"Maybe you should do the same." Rob said, and Clifford placed the desert in front of them.

"I'll be back with your check shortly." He said, and then walked off again.

Sango looked at it. It looked absolutely delicious, but it was probably absolutely fattening. Her metabolism wasn't what it used to be before she had children and she often watched what she ate, but for some reason it look absolutely irresistible.

"It looks a bit fattening."

Rob laughed and picked up a spoon. "Of course it's fattening. But it's good. Besides, you don't have to worry about things like that. Your perfect."

Sango smiled. "Thank you."

"May I feed you?" Rob asked, holding a spoonful of cake up to her.

Sango glanced at it, then at Rob. "I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself, you know."

He laughed again and gave her a charming wink. "I know, but I've always wanted to do this."

Why did she always seem to find guys like that? Was Rob a jerk too? And why was she being so bitter towards him? He was being a perfect gentlemen, despite the whole subtle, 'go to bed with me tonight' hint.

The answer was simple.

Seeing Miroku with Alyssa had put her in a very bad mood. But she was _not _going to let Miroku ruin her date.

"Alright." She agreed and allowed him to feed her the desert. "Oh wow. This is really delicious."

Rob took a bite for himself. "Yes. Wow that is really good." He said.

Miroku's foot tapped underneath the table as he ate his dinner. What gave _him_ the right to feed _his_ wife in public?

"Is that bothering you?" Alyssa asked, looking over at Sango and Rob. Miroku had wondered if she was just doing that to piss him off. If she was, he probably deserved it. He had been such an asshole earlier towards her.

"What? That?" He asked, gesturing towards them. "No. Are you kidding me?"

Alyssa smiled at him. "Kami, you look so amazing tonight. I feel like the luckiest girl here. I never thought I would be dating one of my student's father before."

Miroku gave her a charming smile and held his hand out to her. "Well, you _are_ the luckiest girl here. I'm about to treat you to a night of dancing and romance. The fact by wife is here won't change that at all."

Alyssa smiled and took his hand and he helped her up. "Shall we dance?" He asked, grinning.

"I thought you'd never ask."

************************************************************************

Sango finished more of her desert then she thought she would which only left her wanting even more, if it wasn't so rich. Her stomach was really starting to hurt and it only churned more when she saw Miroku lift Alyssa out of her seat and pull her onto the dance floor.

Rob heard the slow music playing at the front of the restaurant and he looked up at Sango. "You want to dance with me?"

She looked at him quite surprised and the slowly smiled. "I'd love to."

He took her hand in his and helped her up, then led her out to the dance floor. He put his hands around her waist and Miroku kept his eyes on her, while Alyssa lovingly rested her head on his chest.

Sango leaned her head on Rob's shoulder and watched Miroku as he danced with Alyssa. His eyes were focused on her, but his hands were on Alyssa and it made her blood boil. She didn't know she would have been this jealous until it was right in front of her eyes.

Seeing the monk with another woman other than herself was heartbreaking. Her eyes lingered on him and he tried to look away, but he couldn't. Then she saw him slowly close his eyes and embrace Alyssa like he loved her something.

Her heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. He was really over her. She wanted to cry so bad it hurt. "I'm sorry Rob, I…I'm not feeling well." The truth was, she wasn't feeling well at all and she wondered if Alyssa and Miroku's closeness had anything to do with it.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Rob asked.

"No. I just…want to sit down." She said and he led her back over to the table.

Miroku watched her with concern and continued to dance with Alyssa. She peered up at him and he turned his attention towards her. "I've never been with a man as attractive as you are." She said, softly, brushing away his dark locks from his eyes. Sango sat at her seat and seethed.

His eyes sparkled with flattery and Alyssa once again felt like she was going to melt. "Now I find that hard to believe. You're very beautiful."

The woman blushed and moved closer to him, trying her best to distract him from Sango. His gaze kept averting towards her and Alyssa was becoming frustrated. "Miroku…"

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little distracted. Seeing her out with another guy…" He turned his head and watched as Rob sat down next to her and was probably asking how she felt. She was beginning to look a little pale and Miroku was becoming increasingly worried. "It's just so weird."

The monk kept his gaze on his wife as Rob settled next to her and then, just as quickly, placed a small, light kiss on her lips. Miroku lost it. "What the hell are you doing with my wife?" He bellowed, leaving Alyssa behind on the dance floor and within a few strides he was looming above Rob.

"Miroku!" Sango shrieked, as he grabbed Rob by the collar of his shirt and threw him against the wall.

"Answer me, damn it!" Miroku banged him against the wall and by now Sango was extremely embarrassed as people crowded around, even people from across the restaurant and even the music had stopped. Oh Kami, what had she done?

Rob attempted to pull his hands away from his neck. "Hey! You're the one who cheated on her! You're here with another woman."

Sango grabbed onto Miroku's arm and pulled it down as hard as she could, but he didn't budge. "Miroku! Stop it! Let him go!"

"_You _stay out of this, Sango." Miroku demanded. "This is between me and him."

"Well, I'm not just going to sit by and let you kill him!" She countered. "Let him go." She pleaded him with her eyes and he gave one more look of disdain up at Rob, then let him go, and he fell to the ground with a dull pain in his tailbone.

Alyssa ran over to him once the shock wore off. "Miroku, are you hurt?"

It was Sango's turn to get angry. "And who are you?"

Alyssa peered over at the other brunette and Miroku suddenly felt caught in the middle. This was about to get ugly.

She gave Sango a small smile and held out her hand. "My name's Alyssa. I work at the school where your twin girls go."

Miroku was sweating bullets.

"_You_ work at the preschool by daughters go to, and your out with their father?" Sango asked in disbelief. "What kind of a woman are you?" Her voice was slightly raised and Miroku thought now might be the time he would want to step in.

"Alright, Sango. Don't get upset."

"Did you ask her out, you lecher?" Sango asked, ignoring his attempt to calm her down. She smacked him in the head with her purse. "I see…" Another smack. "It doesn't take…" and another. "you long to move…" And yet another smack on the had. "_on_!" She said, emphasizing the last word with another strike on his head.

"Do you have to so violent all the time?" Miroku asked, rubbing his head.

Sango's pale appearance had turned red and Miroku knew she had lost her temper. His scalp was probably going to be bruised for a couple days. It felt like she had a ton of bricks in her purse. "You know what?" She finally said, looking at Alyssa. "You can have him. I'm done!"

The ex-demon exterminator stomped her way through the crowd, not caring that everyone was looking at her. As soon as she stepped outside she leaned against the wall and burst out into tears.

Back inside, Miroku was sheepishly looking around at the other patrons in the restaurant. "What? You've never seen people fight before?" He asked, and everyone seemed to snap out of their trance and go back to what they were doing. "Geez…"

He leaned against the table and peered across the restaurant that Sango had stomped through just a few moments before and contemplated going after her. If he did, they would probably get in another fight. It was best if he just went home.

Miroku turned to Alyssa. "I think I better take you home." He said.

"So soon?" Alyssa asked.

The houshi forced a smile. "Yea. It's getting late, I have to get Akira and Hitomi into bed." He said, glancing down at his watch.

"Oh, alright." She said, grabbing his hand and smiling. "Despite that little fight, I had a wonderful time."

"I'm glad." Miroku said, leading her outside and was very displeased to see that Rob was trying to calm her down but to no prevail.

"No! Rob! I don't want to go back to your place. I want to go home!" She demanded, hysterically.

Miroku's jaw tightened. "Hey, she said she wants to go home. So take her back home."

"Stay out of this, Miroku!" Sango demanded. "I don't need your help."

He was about to open his mouth to say something but Alyssa grabbed tightly on his arm. "Don't fight with her anymore, please."

Miroku glanced down at her, then over at Sango. Rob had pulled her into a hug and she was crying into his chest, just like she used to do with him when something was bothering her. Rather they just had a fight, or if it was something else, he would always hold her until she stopped crying.

At that moment, something inside him snapped and he turned to Alyssa, backed her against his car and placed his lips to hers. He pulled away a few seconds later and smiled at her. It wasn't near as invigorating as he would have hoped.

Sango saw the whole thing and when Miroku looked over at her, she pushed Rob against the brick wall of the restaurant and kissed him. Miroku froze.

She pulled away from him and glared at the monk, then stomped towards Rob's car. "Take me home." She demanded.

Rob blinked in confusion, then stared over at the monk who was giving him the glare of death. "Yes, ma'am."


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

_Sango stomped into the house just after 10:30, and Brock looked back at her from the television as she entered the foyer. "How did---whoa you don't look to happy."_

"_Oh, Mr. Harrison. It was terrible." She said, hugging him and sobbing uncontrollably. "Miroku showed up with some…whore…that works at the preschool. I want to pull my children out of the school. I don't want them near her and then--" Another eruption of sobs interrupted her rant and Sakura walked in from the kitchen._

"_Oh, Sango, dear. Don't let Miroku upset you like that."_

"_It wasn't just Miroku." Sango informed her, pulling away from Brock and wiping her eyes. "Rob started kind of acting like a jerk. He got in a fight with Miroku and it was so embarrassing and then he kept hinting around about me going home with him and sleeping with him…I'm just so confused."_

_Brock didn't know about anyone else, but he had the feeling this was a girl's moment and he suddenly wasn't wanted. "I'll be upstairs in the bedroom if anyone needs me."_

"_That's a good idea, Brock." Sakura agreed and watched him ascend the stairs. "Sango, honey, I'm so sorry you're date went bad. I really was hoping it would have went better. You deserve better."_

_Sango looked up at her and felt like she couldn't cry anymore. Sakura handed her a tissue and Sango wiped her eyes. "It wasn't really Rob's fault…Miroku started it all."_

_Sakura ran her fingers through Sango's hair and gave her a smile. "Well, you know how Miroku is. He's an egomaniac. He didn't like seeing you with Rob and it probably just upset him."_

"_Why do thing have to be so complicated?" Sango asked, burying her face into Sakura's shoulder. She felt like a whiney baby, but she didn't care right now. She needed to cry. _

"_Things will get better, dear." Sakura promised. "Brock and I had our ups and downs. He was a womanizer back in his hay day." _

"_Brock?" Sakura asked in disbelief._

_The blue-haired half demon laughed. "Yes, Brock. He was horrible. I remember just after Ayame was born, I would say she was about 8 months old, there was this woman who moved in down the street." Sakura explained. "Well, Ayame had come down with a really awful cold, so I had to take her the doctor. When I came home that afternoon, I found him kissing that woman in our own kitchen." _

_Sango's eyes grew wide. "What did you do?"_

"_I told the woman to get out of my house. I went to our room, packed her bags, grabbed Ayame and went to my sister's house." Sakura told her. _

_Sango peered down at her hands and fiddled with her bracelet. "How did you work things out?"_

"_Well, I lived with my sister for a couple of months, by then I had calmed down enough to talk to him. Turns out she was the one who grabbed __him_ and kissed _him._ I wasn't sure if I wanted to believe him, but it was a likely story, so I told him one more chance and one more chance only. And well the rest is history."

Sango hugged her. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Harrison. This talk really helped. I think I'm going to call Rob and tell him I'm sorry about tonight."

Sakura smiled at her. "You should invite him over. He really did seem nice. Maybe for Sunday dinner."

"That sounds like a great idea." Sango said smiling. "Sakura?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Do you think…" She said, fiddling with her invisible wedding ring that she was so used to fooling with. "we could…take a look at the divorce papers after I get off the phone?"

Sakura looked at her for a few silent seconds. "If that's what you want to do, dear."

************************************************************************

Miroku walked into the entrance of the apartment building around just before 11:00. He walked into the living room to see that Amber and Nelly were watching a movie, Akira was asleep on Hayden's lap and Hitomi was still coloring.

Her blue eyes lit up when he walked into the room and she clambered to her feet and rushed up to hug him. "Daddy!"

"Hey there, princess. I missed you." He said, picking her up and kissing her cheek.

Nelly smiled lazily. "She's been a perfect angel. You're little devil child conked out about a half hour ago."

"That's a blessing…" Miroku said, running one hand through his hair and holding Hitomi with his other, who had become very tired just in the past few minutes and laid her head tiredly on his shoulder.

Hayden rubbed Akira's hair out of her face then looked up at him. She could never grow tired of the way he looked. She smiled. "How was your date?"

Miroku scoffed and grinned. "I would say it was hell, but that would be an understatement. Sango was there with Rob." He said. "Out of all the places in Tokyo, they had to pick that one."

"What happened?" Amber asked.

"He kissed her. I lost it. I got in a fight. Sango hit me in the head with her purse. She ran outside crying, then I kissed Alyssa and I think I might have truly ruined ever getting back with her again." Miroku explained, trying to make a long story short.

Amber frowned. "That's too bad, houshi-sama." She said.

"Yea, well…" he trailed off. "Things change I guess."

Hitomi lifted her head up. "I drew you a pretty picture daddy." She said tiredly.

Miroku smiled and set her down on the floor. "Well, let's see it."

Hitomi kneeled down in front of her mess and sifted through the papers on the floor. "Here it is." She said, giving him a drawing of stick people. "See there's you. You have a pop-tart in your hand. There's Akira, and there is me. And there is mommy." She said, pointing to another figure, then she looked up at him. "Just like we used to be…"

The room was silent and Miroku felt as if he was going to cry. "Hitomi…you shouldn't draw things like this…" he choked out.

"You don't like it?" She asked, sadly as he stood up and reached over to grab Akira off the sofa, who remained asleep as he slung her over his shoulder.

"No. I love it. It's just…" He looked away from her. "C'mon, little lady, it's way past your bedtime."

He reached down and picked up her coloring book. "Get your crayons and let's go."

Hitomi picked them up and grabbed his hand as he led her towards the elevator. "Goodnight aunt Amber and Uncle Nelly."

"Goodnight Hitomi, and Akira." Amber said. "Goodnight Miroku…"

"Night…" He said, dryly and stepped into the elevator.

The four year old girl peered at her drawing and was trying to figure out why her father didn't like it. She had thought it was a masterpiece and he always loved drawings of his family.

Akira snored loudly in his ear. Miroku looked at her. "She's out like a light." He said, as the doors dinged open. "It's lights out for you when we get in, OK?"

Hitomi nodded up at him and blinked her tired eyes. "Are you going to hang my picture up?"

Miroku stuck his key in the lock and turned it. "I don't know."

"You promised…" She reminded him, looking up.

He glanced down at her. "Alright. I'll hang it up." He said, taking it from her and walking over to the fridge, then fastened it with a magnet, which caused her to smile.

Akira yawned and opened her eyes tiredly. "Mommy?"

"Hey there, sleepyhead." The monk said, smiling at her as he finally placed her on the floor to her feet. "You two go get ready for bed, alright?"

Akira looked around. "Where's mommy?"

Miroku sighed. "She's not here." He sat down on the couch and flipped on the television. "Go brush your teeth and get ready for bed." He ordered again, and Akira grabbed Hitomi's hand and led her to the bathroom.

He sat on the couch and watched the pictures flip by mindlessly. Nothing held his interest anymore, not even football. His life just completely sucked now that Sango was gone and his vision became blurry with tears. "Sango…" He whispered to himself and he wiped a tear away from the corner of his eye.

Hitomi walked over to him and climbed in his lap. "Why are you crying, daddy?"

"I…I'm not crying. I just have something in my eye." He said, wiping both his eyes. "Akira, did you brush your teeth, too?"

"Yes, daddy."

"Floss?"

"Yes, daddy." She repeated.

"Alright. Now off to bed. You too, Hitomi."

She hesitated beside him.

Miroku was now becoming just a little annoyed. "What?"

Hitomi timidly looked at him. "Mommy always says goodnight to us before we go to sleep."

Miroku buried his face in his hands. "Alright. I'll say goodnight to you."

"And reads us a story." Akira reminded, and Miroku stood up.

"Alright, but only a short one. I have to get up in the morning." He said, walking them to their bedroom.

Akira climbed into her bed and Hitomi did the same in the other bed near the wall. Miroku searched through their bookcase for a book. "Alright, so what book do you guys want me to read?"

"Mommy never reads a book." Hitomi said. Akira nodded.

"Yea, she makes up something."

Miroku's shoulder slouched. "Well, I'm not as good as she is at making up stories."

Akira sat on her knees and peered at him with those brown eyes that reminded him so much of Sango. "Please daddy?"

He sighed and sat back down in the small chair that was 5 times too small for his behind. How did Sango manage to sit in this thing? "Alright. I'll try, but I'm not promising anything."

Akira settled back down in her bed and Hitomi faced him.

"Once, there was a monk," Miroku began.

"Was that you daddy?" Akira asked.

"Yes it was me." He replied. "Anyway, one day that monk met a beautiful princess, who had a knack for killing large demons."

"Ew!" Hitomi exclaimed. "Mommy never puts demons in the stories!" She said in disgust.

Miroku glanced at her. "Well, this is my story, not mommy's. No more interruptions, OK?"

Hitomi sighed. "OK, daddy."

"OK, so anyway. The monk and the demon slaying princess fall in love, but they don't tell each other." He said. "Then one day, they get in a fight and they fall down a well." He looked over to see that his daughters were looking at him with great interest.

"When they climbed out they saw a strange world, full of futuristic things and all kinds of the things that were very mystifying." He continued, adding a dramatic tone to his voice. "Well, the princess meets a villain, we'll call him Howie for short."

"Is the princess mommy?" Akira asked, again.

Miroku paused. "Akira, lay back down. OK, So anyway. Howie steals the princess away from the monk. So the monk starts dating other princesses, but he always holds that one special princess to his heart. Well one day there's a show down between the monk and Howie. Can you guess which one won?" He asked, looking side to side at both his girls.

Akira yawned. "Howie?"

Miroku laughed. "No. The monk dude won! And do you know what happened after he swallowed his pride and finally asked her to be his bride?"

Hitomi and Akira were silent.

"Two very beautiful and very sleepy princesses were born. And they slowly fell asleep…" He quieted his voice. "and had peaceful dreams…and didn't wake up until morning."

He quietly walked out of the room and shut the door.

"Daddy!" Hitomi screamed.

The houshi opened the door. "I thought you were asleep."

"Mommy leaves the door cracked for me because I'm scared of the dark." She said, blinking at him pitifully.

Miroku turned on the hallway light and cracked her door. "Goodnight, princesses. Sleep tight." He watched the two of them slowly drift back to sleep before he walked away towards his own bedroom.

He sat on his bed and pulled his wedding picture from the dresser. He stared at it for a long time, and he'll never forget how beautiful Sango looked in that dress. She was simply stunning. "I'm still hoping you'll come back home." He said softly, then placed it back on his nightstand.

He pulled down the covers and sat back in bed then pulled her pillow to him. "I still love you." Miroku said drinking in her scent. "Goodnight, Sango."

************************************************************************

Sango gave Sakura another hug goodnight before she headed up to her own bedroom, where Kirara lay sleeping on her bed. The twin-tailed cat became alert as soon as Sango entered the room and happily greeted her with a small meow.

"Hey there, Kirara." She said, patting her on the head. Then searched through her luggage case to find her sleeping clothes. She had calmed down considerably in the last couple hours and the only thing she was worried about was if Miroku had read the girls their bedtime story.

"You think he's taking good care of them?" Sango asked her feline companion who just mewed in response. "I miss him…sometimes." She said.

She settled down the bed. "Good news though. Rob's coming to Sunday dinner!"

Kirara made a low sound of disapproval and rubbed against Sango's arm. "You don't like rob?" She asked.

Kirara pawed at Sango's wedding ring she had placed on the table when she had taken it off. "Kirara, cut it out. Miroku's a jerk. You know, he once used you as a chick magnet. You remember that, don't you?"

The small cat just twirled her tails and her owner sighed. "Goodnight, Kirara. I'll see you in the morning."

She pulled down the bed covers and Kirara rested against her back, wrapping herself up in her large fluffy tail.

Laying there for a few moments, she heard the wind blow violently outside her window and she missed his strong arms around her waist, holding onto her tightly, keeping her safe and warm. "Stupid jerk…" she muttered tiredly. (What's Alyssa got that I don't?) She thought to herself.

Her mind raced until she couldn't form a coherent thought in her head, and she eventually drifted off into a very uneasy sleep.

************************************************************************

Saturday morning came all too early for Miroku, and he pulled himself from the light, lucid sleep he had been in all night long. He sat up in his big empty bed in the semi-dark bedroom and then placed his feet on the floor.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly and he wondered how much longer he could go without a good night's rest. He glanced over at his wedding picture and ran his fingers over his rough face. He probably looked like a hobo, and he really didn't even care anymore.

If it wasn't for Akira and Hitomi he wouldn't even be going into work today. Today was definitely going to be a drag and he knew Reggie and everyone else at work would have heard about that fight he got into at the restaurant the night before.

Standing up from his bed, he prepared for work rather quickly then stared at himself in the mirror. He was better looking them Rob wasn't he? Even with the rough beard on his face and his un-ironed shirt? Maybe not. He wasn't a woman he couldn't tell.

Even Hayden, who had an unhealthily, obsessive fascination with him had said Rob was "dreamy". Did it really matter anyway? Sango was out of his life forever and he would just have to learn to deal with it.

Then, he heard a bump and loud scream. Great. One of the girl's hurt themselves.

He rushed into their bedroom, where he saw Akira laying on the floor and Hitomi sitting up in bed rubbing her eyes. Miroku became nervous. Sango was going to kill him. "Akira, what happened?"

His only response was a loud cry from her, and he picked her up and set her on the bed. "It's OK. You just rolled out of bed. Did you hit your head?"

"My arm hurts." She said between sobs.

"You hit your arm?" Miroku asked her, and pulled it towards him only to make her release a blood curdling scream. Not a good idea. "Alright, I won't touch it."

Oh, Buddha, he was in trouble. Sango already thought he was irresponsible. Akira's arm might have been broken while she was in his care. Why him? Why now?

"Akira, just calm down, ok?" He said picking her up.

"I don't want you. I want mommy!" She hollered and Miroku sighed.

"Alright. I'll call her. Akira you stay in here, Hitomi get dressed." He was barking orders and Hitomi looked as if she was about to burst into tears as well. He picked up his cell phone off the kitchen table, where he had carelessly thrown it the night before and dialed Sango's number.

After four long rings, she picked up sounding very tired. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." Miroku said, feeling his mouth go dry.

Sango rolled her eyes. "What do you---is Akira crying?"

The monk quickly shut his bedroom door to drown out the sound. "Uh…well…"

"What happened? Did she fall out of the car?"

"No." He said, nervously. "She…fell out of bed."

He heard her sigh on the other end of the phone. "You didn't make sure she took the bed near the wall did you?"

"I…well…I didn't know!" Miroku exclaimed in his defense.

"Miroku, how could you be so stupid? Akira always sleeps on the bed near the wall because she has a tendency to roll to the right when she sleeps." Sango argued with him, as she stood up out of bed. "I'm coming over there. Is she seriously hurt?"

"Well," He began slowly. He could tell his wife's patience was wearing thin. "She won't let me touch her arm."

"Her arm's probably broken." She said. "I'll be there in 10 minutes. I'll ask Mrs. Harrison if I can borrow her car, since mine's not working."

"It's not still not working?"

"That's not important right now, Miroku." Her voice was agitated. "I'll be there in 10 minutes. Put an ice pack on her arm until I get there. I'm taking her to the doctor."

Miroku panicked. "An ice pack? Where do you keep those?"

"The freezer!" Sango replied exasperated. "I have to go so I can get dressed and leave." Then she hung up, leaving him with nothing but a dial tone.

Miroku clicked the end button and walked over to the freezer, and searched around the ice pack. Akira was still crying and he was starting to get a headache. Maybe when Sango got here things would be better.

Or worse…

He finally managed to find the gel-filled pouch that was almost frozen solid in the door of the freezer. He walked back into their bedroom to find Akira's arm had turned black and blue just above the elbow.

"Oh! That looks pretty bad." Miroku said, concerned. "Here, put this on it. It will help the swelling."

Hitomi wiped the tears from her eyes and walked over towards Miroku and Akira. "Is mommy coming?"

"Yes. She's coming. I'll have to call in and tell them I'm going to be late for work." He said, glancing over at their Tinkerbell clock. "Akira, can you hold this on there?"

She slowly nodded through her tears and Miroku stood up, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. He exchanged a few words with Reggie and no sooner had he hung up, the front door opened.

Sango rushed into the bedroom to see Miroku holding the ice pack back to her arm, and she laid her purse on the bed, then kneeled down in front of Akira. "Don't cry. I'm here now." She said softly, hugging her.

Miroku stood by the wall and watched her. "It's bruised pretty badly." He informed her and Sango removed the ice pack to look at her arm.

"That looks terrible." She said. "C'mon, we're going to the doctor." She lifted Akira off the bed and Miroku was grateful she had stopped crying. Sango looked at him for a moment. "Are you coming?"

All he could do was nod, and he knew she was very angry with him. If Akira hadn't been hurt she would probably be yelling at him for how much of an idiot he was.

"I took Mrs. Harrison's car. I moved the car seats in the back temporarily. Grab Hitomi and let's go." She demanded quickly, not even glancing at him, but he obeyed her and lifted Hitomi off the floor.

Miroku could already tell, this was going to be a long day.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

_Miroku took a chance and sat beside Sango in the waiting room. Now maybe he could talk to her. She seemed relatively calm. "Sango?"_

"_What?"_

"_I'm sorry." He apologized. "I didn't know she rolled out of bed sometimes. I thought that was Hitomi."_

"_No." Sango flipped through an old magazine, that she wasn't really reading and Miroku knew she was just trying to ignore him. She obviously didn't want to talk to him, but that didn't stop him from trying. _

"_Look, you can't be mad at me forever." He said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, but she lifted his hand away and placed it back in his lap._

"_Don't touch me, monk." She warned, glancing at him quickly. Kami, why did he have to be so cute? He looked so guilty and dejected for what happened to Akira she actually felt bad for getting so angry at him. She sighed and her voice softened. "Look, children get hurt. It's just the way it is. Don't feel bad about it." She said, running her fingers through Akira's hair comfortingly. _

_Miroku eyed her in shock. Was she actually being __nice_ to him? "You mean…you're not mad?"

"Of course I'm mad." Sango said, calmly. Her voice did not convey her supposed anger. "But…you didn't mean to. And I shouldn't have jumped on you like that. All that's important now is we get Akira taken care of."

"But you're still mad?"

"Yes."

Damn it. Miroku sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Why are you so touchy today?"

"Don't worry about it, Miroku." Sango snapped at him, trying her best to ignore his presence, but he shifted in his seat and she got a whiff of his scent. It was a mix between musky cologne and Irish Spring body wash.

"You just seem a little distant…" He murmured. "Does it have something to do with last night?" He asked, leaning towards her.

"Last night was your fault. You didn't have to start a fight with Rob." She scolded him. "That was completely uncalled for."

Miroku immediately became defensive. "Well, he didn't have to kiss you. _That_ was completely uncalled for. You might hate me, but your still my wife."

"We're not together, anymore." Sango reminded him curtly. "Besides, last night isn't bothering me."

The houshi stared over at her, though she wasn't facing him. "Then what's wrong?"

The door to the back of the doctor's office swung open and a pink-haired nurse stepped through the door. "Akira Keseki." She called out sweetly. "We're ready for your x-rays."

Sango stood up and Miroku fallowed, leading Hitomi along by the hand. "My name is Nurse Joy, Akira. I want you to step into this room so we can get your height and weight." She said, peering down at her.

Akira looked timidly up at Sango then up at Nurse Joy. Sango rubbed her head soothingly. "Do as she says, alright? She won't hurt you."

Hitomi was watching curiously as Nurse Joy measured her sister's height then weight. The pink-haired woman smiled. "Well, besides that hurt arm, you're a very healthy little girl." She smiled. "Mrs. Keseki, you can go into the back and wait to be called into the x-ray room."

Sango wished she wasn't referred to as _Mrs._ Keseki anymore. Then again, she had gotten so used to it and it seemed to fit her. And it was the last name that belonged to her children, and that annoyingly gorgeous man that was standing just a few feet away from her.

"Do you want me to just stay out here with Hitomi?" He asked, pulling her from her thoughts. His voice was smooth and quiet, like it always was when he kissed her goodnight before they fell asleep, like it used to be.

Sango hesitated. "Actually…uhm…Why don't you take Akira into the ex-ray room?"

Raising an eyebrow, he switched places with her. "Not that I mind. But why?"

He saw her stumble over her words as she took Hitomi's hand. "Well, you know how Hitomi gets. She misses me sometimes." She said, seemingly uneasy around him. "Akira, is that OK if daddy takes you to get the x-ray?" She asked, kneeling down until she was eyelevel with her daughter.

Akira slowly nodded, her face red from tears, and Sango placed a kiss on her head and stood up. "I'll be out there…just come out and tell me what's going on when your done."

Miroku nodded and led Akira down the hallway to the other section of the doctor's office.

************************************************************************

"So it's just sprained?" Sango asked Brock as they sat in his exam room.

"Yes. Sprained in a very bad place." He said, looking at the x-rays. "We'll put it in a sling, she should be good as new in a few days." He said, smiling.

"Thank Buddha it's not broken." Miroku said with relief. Sango didn't seem so angry with him now, instead she ran her fingers through Akira's hair soothingly as Brock wrapped up her arm in pink bandages and a 'Hello Kitty' sling.

"Oh well, isn't that pretty?" Sango asked, smiling.

Brock stood up and smiled at Akira. "All done." He said, glancing at Sango. Miroku had noticed that he didn't even so much as _look_ at him. He must have been angry. He had ever right to be, though.

"Can we go home now, mommy?" Akira asked, tiredly. "I want to go back to sleep."

Miroku glanced at his watch. "I better get to work. I told them I'd be there at 9, and it's already 9:30."

"I'll take the girls home with me…" Sango told him calmly. "I think Akira's going to need special attention this week."

"Yea. I understand." He said, leaning against the wall. "Well, bye girls." He kissed them both on the head briefly then looked up at Sango. "Call me later and tell me how Akira's doing, ok?"

She hesitated a bit, then nodded her head. "I will." She said, repressing the urge to tell him she loved him. It was almost automatic, right along with the usual long kiss goodbye.

He waved to them as he left the room and Sango gathered her purse off the exam table, and led the girls out of the small cramped space. She was more than ready to go back to the Harrison's; doctor's offices always made her nervous.

************************************************************************

By Sunday night, Akira seemed to have gotten used to having her arm wrapped up and even to the slight pain in her upper arm. She managed to still play Barbie's with Keiko and Hitomi and Sango was in the kitchen helping Sakura with dinner.

Sakura glanced at her as she turned on the rice cooker. "Oh, sweety, don't worry about helping me. You go get yourself dolled up for that boy, alright?" She asked. "I can handle this on my own?"

Sango blushed a deep red. "Are you sure?"

"I've cooked for a grouchy husband for 17 years, and a 16 year old daughter and now a 5 year old. I can handle it." She laughed and waved her along. "Now, go on. I know you want to look pretty for him."

Sango giggled. She felt like she was 5 years younger, at the age of 18 and it bought back so many memories of how Sakura had helped her get ready for her prom with Miroku. She still remembered his tongue-tied reaction and she smiled a bit.

So what was wrong with her now? Did having twins really change her body that much? Had she gotten frumpy? Or less desirable?

She had to stop analyzing her appearance. She never cared about it back in the feudal era, she never really even cared about it until she met Miroku, then she felt that she had the need to dress herself up to impress him. She was too old and too mature to sit here and have body image complexes about herself.

She dug through make up kit and pulled out a stick of eyeliner and a pallet of eye shadow. She dabbed her eyelids with magenta pigment and lined her eyes with a smoky black, then set to work on finding a dress to wear.

After pulling just about every garment she had out of the suitcase she found exactly what she wanted to wear. Something that Miroku had always liked on her. A simple red dress with a cut on the side. She wondered if it would drive Rob just as crazy as it had Miroku.

She had to stop thinking about that. Too many memories were surfacing and she was trying to be presentable for a guy _other_ then Miroku, for once.

She slipped into the dress and was fastening two hoop earrings in her ears when she heard the doorbell ring. That had to have been Rob. She heard Sakura greet him, then she mentally prepared herself to go down and face him the other night. Well, at least he came over, maybe he wasn't mad.

Rob smiled at her as she made her way down the stairs. "Stunning as usual. And I bought you these." He said, handing her bouquet of purple roses.

"Oh wow. They're beautiful." Sango said, taking the plastic wrapped flowers from his hands and holding them to her nose. "Thank you so much." Miroku never bought her flowers that much. Well, he used to, right before they got married.

"I bought you purple roses, because your beauty is so rare." He kissed her hand, causing her to blush.

He's starting to sound more like Miroku every time she saw him, which made her feel apprehensive. "Oh wow. Thank you." Sango said, feeling a bit flattered. Though, she had dealt with his type before, they only say what you want them to say, but Rob wasn't a womanizer like Miroku.

She hated this. She knew she would compare Rob to Miroku, just like she did the other night when she saw him. She compared everything from their hair to their eyes. Their bodies and voices, and of course their personalities, which were really quite similar, with little differences.

Why did she always attract men like that?

Sakura smiled and took the roses from Sango. "I'll put these in some water. I'm going to run out of vases at this point. Dinner's just about ready and Brock should be home at any minute." She said checking her watch.

Sango looked at Rob, then into the living room where Akira and Hitomi were playing barbies with Keiko. "I have to go and make sure the girls wash their hands. You want to help?"

"Sure." Rob said, smiling. "Anytime to be near you." He winked at her and Sango simply smiled. Why was he so fascinated with her? She didn't feel nearly as strongly about him, but of course, after comparing him to Miroku, he just simply didn't compare.

She was still in love with that lecherous idiot.

"C'mon girls, you two Keiko. Let's go get washed up." Sango said, picking up Akira, careful not to bump her arm. Hitomi and Keiko fallowed. Rob fallowed behind her and she led them into the bathroom.

"Rob, can you reach into the closet and give me so towels?" She asked.

"Daddy never makes us wash our hands." Akira said, trying to scratch an itch under he bandage.

Sango scowled at the thought of Miroku. "And that's why you get sick all the time, sweety. He never thinks about this kind of stuff."

"Men usually don't." Rob spoke up. "That's why women take care of children."

She slightly resented that remark, yes, she did stay home and take care of the children while Miroku worked, but she could have done other things if she wanted. She just enjoyed being a mother. "Women are just more responsible." She said, drying Akira's hands carefully.

"Men are more rational." Rob came back at her, smiling. Then he stepped away from his side of the sink and made his way over to her. She felt his slip his arms around her waist. "May I ask you something?" He whispered softly into her ear.

Sango tensed and became nervous. It did feel nice to be held like that again, but not like it did with Miroku. "Uhm…sure." She said. "What is it?"

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" He asked, sounding serious. "I mean, when I first saw you, I thought 'wow, she's beautiful', and something was aching inside of me, just to hold you." His grip on her waist tightened.

"Rob…" She pulled away from him quickly. "I have to get the girls ready for dinner. They have to eat, then take a bath, then I have to get them to bed. They do have school tomorrow." She said, thinking about Alyssa. Jealousy started to rise within her, but she quickly stopped it. She was not going to let that ruin her night.

"Alright…" He said, sounding a little dejected and he fallowed her down to the kitchen.

************************************************************************

Sango was tense all through dinner. The way he acted in the bathroom really had frightened her. Was he trying to tell her he loved her? What was he trying to say to her? Everything was just happening so fast.

Akira sat beside Rob, swinging her feet back and forth under the table. "Show me another magic trick."

"Hm…alright." He dug into his pockets for some change and pulled out a quarter. "Put this in your hands and hold it, be careful of your arm. Hitomi, I need your help."

Hitomi pushed out her chair and quickly ran over to his side of the table. "And you, hold this quarter in your hands. Squeeze really tight and don't let go until I tell you, too OK?"

"Alright." Hitomi agreed.

Akira peered up at him. "Can I keep the quarter?"

"Akira. Don't be so rude." Sango said, blushing, but Rob simply smiled.

"I got one better for you." He said. "Alright, now open your hands…"

Akira peeked inside her hands to find a one dollar bill scrunched up in her hands. "How did you do that?"

"It's magic." Rob replied.

"Wow. A whole dollar!" Hitomi exclaimed. "Look mommy! I want to tell daddy!"

Sango smiled and picked her up. "Maybe after your bath, you can call him OK?"

"OK." She agreed jumping down.

Sango stood up and proceeded to clean the table off, but Sakura stopped her. "I'll take care of that dear. You go and spend some time with Rob." She said, smiling.

"Are you sure?" Sango asked, a little unsure about leaving all the work to Sakura.

"Yes. I'm positive. Hitomi, Akira, Keiko, do you want to help me?"

"Yea!" Akira exclaimed. "But my arm hurts…what can I do?"

Sakura thought for a long moment. "Well, you can hand me the dishes. Hitomi you can dry them and Keiko you put them away."

"Aw, but mommy, why do I get the stupid job?" Keiko asked, clearly disappointed with her mother's decision.

"It's not a stupid job. Now, c'mon, let's get started." Sakura encouraged them, and then smiled over at Sango, ensuring her that they would be fine.

Sango fallowed Rob outside and closed the front door behind her. "Thank you, for coming over tonight."

"It was my pleasure." Rob told her, his dark eyes shimmered in the darkness. "You look absolutely amazing tonight."

She blushed and giggled. "Thank you…you've made it a point to tell me that a lot."

"Because it's true." He said smiling. Then his expression turned serious, and she felt him run him fingers through her hair. "How are things with your husband?"

"Not any better." Sango said dryly. "He's still acting like he doesn't want to work things out."

Rob leaned against the wall and stared at her for a long moment. "Maybe it's time you've moved on." He said, his voice was lowered an octave and he stepped near her. "You deserve to be loved, Sango. You are too beautiful to be alone, too beautiful to be missing him."

Sango stared up at him and was quiet for a moment as he just stared into her eyes. "It's…it's not that easy. I still love him."

"Well, maybe I can change your mind…" Rob said, smiling, and he pressed her lips to hers once again. She responded to him, and kissed him back, but her mind was on Miroku. Thinking back to the way he used to kiss her, hold her, and make love to her. It was all too fresh in her mind and no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, she couldn't get that same feeling with Rob.

She pulled away from him. "Rob, I have to go."

"But Sango…"

"Rob, please. I have to get the girls ready for bed and I think they want to talk to Miroku…" She trailed off. "I can't…do this."

Sango really hated hurting his ego like this, but he was coming on way too strong, and she had to do something.

"He's not worth missing, Sango." Rob said, settling beside her. "I just wish you would give me a chance. It seems he's given Alyssa a chance."

Sango felt a tear trickle down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly. As much as she hated to admit it, Rob was right. He had been with Alyssa, and he had kissed her and held her close to him like he used to do with her.

Come think about how Miroku is, Alyssa is probably in his bed right now with him. "I…I have to go, Rob." She choked out.

"I didn't mean to upset you." He said.

"No. It's alright." She said, forcing a smile. "I just…got to thinking about things. I'll…uhm…I'll call you later." She promised.

"Alright." Rob agreed, then leaned in. "Can I get a goodnight kiss?"

Sango hesitated, then reached up and placed a small kiss on his lips, once again feeling strange about it. It felt so foreign to be kissing another man after so long. She had gotten so used to Miroku's taste, texture and movements that it had become the only thing she knew.

But she was content with that.

"Goodnight, Sango." Rob called out, before he opened his car door.

"Goodnight, Rob. I'll call you tomorrow." She said, then slipped back inside.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

_Sango desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but it was Monday morning and that meant she had to drive the kids to school in Sakura's car. She had no idea when she was going to get her own car fixed and she didn't have to money anyway._

_And she was __not_ going to ask Miroku for the money. Then it would look like she really needed him.

She did need him, and in more ways the one.

She stood tiredly from the kitchen table and quickly packed the girls' lunchboxes and then gathered their book bags. "C'mon, it's time for school." She said, non-enthusiastically.

Sakura walked into the kitchen with a pile of mail, and she smiled sweetly at her. "Oh, good morning, Sango-chan."

"Good morning." Sango said, trying not to sound tired as she fastened bows in Hitomi's hair, not bothering to do the same to Akira.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You got some mail from my company." She said, handing her a letter. "It's about…" She glanced at the children. "The D word."

Divorce? Sango looked down at the unopened envelope. "Oh. Thank you, Mrs. Harrison." She took the letter with her and then led the girls outside. "Thanks for letting me use the car again."

"It's no problem, dear. Be careful." Sakura called after her, noticing how tired and miserable Sango had started to look, it hadn't even been a week since her and Miroku split, yet she looked like she was more and more miserable every day.

Sango was grateful to see that their original teacher was there, and not Alyssa. She really couldn't handle that this morning. After signing them in, she promptly made her way outside of the school building and back to her car. That's when the letter came back into her mind.

Before starting the car up, she picked up the envelope and opened an important-looking letter, pertaining to her divorce. She would have to meet with Mr. Hamilton Alexander at 2:00 P.M. on Wednesday, October 8th. Miroku had to be present as well, and they both had to sign the custody papers of the children.

Sango wasn't prepared for this. She wasn't even sure if she really wanted a divorce after all. She and Miroku had been through so much together and think it would just end…

It was maddening.

But things change. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't just hang onto Miroku for the rest of her life. The only contact she would have with him would be for their children; holidays, graduations, their weddings, maybe even birthday parties.

But nothing more than that.

Sango felt a lump rise in her throat at the thought and she folded the letter up in her purse. She would worry about this later, she was too tired to analyze it right now.

************************************************************************

Wednesday came too fast for Sango, and she almost reluctantly stepped into the lawyer's office building. It was a large, hallow building. It had one of those official feelings, a very unwelcome air about it, and the smell was all too professional.

The complete opposite of the floral scents of her home. Everything about the building seemed to be a cruel reminder that she was going to end everything she had ever built with Miroku just by signing her name to some paper.

She punched the elevator button and the door opened immediately, then she peeked at the letter she had bought with her. Hamilton's office was located on the 6th floor of the large building, so she punched the number six and the door shut.

The elevator shot up and Sango was surprised to see that it stopped on the 2nd floor, then the steel doors opened and she saw Miroku standing there, sunglasses shielding his eyes from her, but she could tell her was looking at her legs. Why had she worn a skirt?

She stood up, and straightened her posture, and she really didn't even know why. "Miroku…"

He smiled and stepped in, pulling his sunglasses from his head and revealed to her those beautiful indigo eyes of his, the ones that could melt her soul and make her surrender everything to him like they had so many times before. "Sango…glad to see you, actually. I'm totally lost. Do you have any idea where this Hamilton guy's office is."

"It's on the 6th floor. It says so on the letter." Sango replied, pulling it out.

"Oh." Miroku said, taking it from her. "I didn't bother reading it. I just got a call yesterday about it…"

"Figures. I bet the envelope's still sitting on the kitchen table isn't it?" Sango asked, folding her arms.

"Yea, or I threw it away." He grinned sheepishly. "I'm not as organized as you."

Sango made a low sound from the back of her throat and she crossed her arms, not bothering to look at him as the elevator started moving again. They were silent, until they felt a jolt, then stillness.

Miroku and Sango exchanged glances. "Is…the door going to open?" Miroku asked.

Sango glanced up at the display and saw that it red 4. "This is only the 4th floor, and it's not opening…what if it's…" Her blood ran cold.

"Stuck?" He finished for, laughing.

"That isn't funny, Houshi!" Sango shrieked. "We could run out of air!"

"Sango, that's impossible. You can't run out of air." Miroku said, grinning. "You always get that like that. You always overreact."

"I am not overreacting, Miroku." Sango folded her arms and huffed, then looked down at the elevator phone. "Does that work?"

He shrugged. "We could try it, I guess." He said, leaning down and opening the small compartment to reveal a red phone. He picked it up and pressed a tiny button inside, which immediately contacted maintenance. "Uh, yea, we're kind of stuck in the elevator."

Sango watched hopefully as he exchanged words with someone over the phone. "Uh…I don't know. It just says we're stuck on floor 4." He said, glancing up at the floor display. "As soon as possible would be great." He paused. "Ok, thank you. Bye."

He placed the phone back into the compartment and flashed her a smile. "They said it could be an hour or so."

Sango's eyes widened. "An hour?" She asked, exasperated.

"Yea. You know, 60 minutes." He said. "You want an apple?" He asked, reaching into his jacket pocket and tossing her a red apple.

"_No_. I don't want your stupid apple. I want out of here!" Sango exclaimed, tossing it back to him. He caught it in his hands and looked at her. "And don't be such a smartass. I know how long an hour is."

He grinned devilishly. "A lot can happen in hour." He spoke smoothly. "Maybe even rekindle a relationship…" He was trying, he really was, but he couldn't stop. Every time he was around her, he felt the need to be near her and be with her again.

But she was stubborn as a mule, and being with her again wasn't going to be that easy.

"Miroku, don't start, OK? Just stay over there, and I'll stay over here until they let us out." Sango instructed him, blushing. Damn, why did she always have to do that? Now he knew he had an affect on her, and he was enjoying it.

He ignored her protest and stepped near her.

"I mean it, monk. Stay over _there_._" _She emphasized by pointing.

His tall figure loomed in front of her, his broad shoulders were just as her eyes. "You smell nice." He said, lowering his head down and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "You've always smelled so nice."

"Miroku, don't start with me today, please?" Sango asked. "Just give me a break."

Miroku ignored her once again and Sango felt more annoyed than angry. She never could quite get angry with Miroku, just extremely and utterly annoyed with him. He pulled her into a tight hug. "Who's picking up the girls?"

"Hideko."

"How's Akira's arm? You haven't called me in a couple days to tell me." Miroku mockingly scolded her, trying his best to keep his hold on her, but she twisted herself out of it.

"It's actually getting better, I think. She still can't use it, but it doesn't hurt her as bad." Sango replied quickly. She was trying to show him signs that she didn't want to talk to him, but it didn't seem to be working.

The monk leaned against the elevator wall, and peered over at her, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "So…" he scratched the back of his head nervously, thoughtfully drawing out the word. "Are you and Rob dating?"

There was a pause. "I'm getting claustphobic.

"There's a clown?" Miroku asked, pressing himself against the wall.

"Claustphobic. Not Coulrophobic!" She said, rolling her eyes. "I hate being trapped in a small space like this."

Miroku waited until his heart rate turned back to normal. "Don't scare me like that. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He asked. "And don't change the subject on me, baby. I asked you a question."

Sango looked down at the ground. "Don't call me 'baby'."

He sighed. "Are you or not?"

"I'm not." She replied, and watched his body relax in relief. "What about Alyssa?'

He tensed again, though his voice was cool and calm. "Nothing serious. Just that one date…she called me the other night…right before you called with the girls."

Sango darted her gaze all around the elevator, except on him. "Oh? What…what did she say?" She stammered.

"She wanted to know if she could come over…" Miroku responded. "I told her no, I had to work. Even though I had yesterday off, I lied."

"Why?" Sango asked.

Miroku dragged his foot across the thin carpet of the elevator floor. "I'm not ready. No one's like you. I'm not over you." He said, leaning back against the wall, then he looked over at her. It was a long, heated look, and the small room seemed to quickly become very heated.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, pushing herself further against the wall. "Don't stare at me like that. Houshi-sama, I mean it!"

He grinned and within one stride he was in front of her, his dark blue eyes shimmering with mischief, lust, and even love. "You don't mean it. You want me to kiss you right now. I know you, Sango. Better than you think I do."

She was speechless. What was he? A mind reader? She didn't bother to move when he leaned into kiss her, and she don't know what came over her, but the moment his lips touched hers, everything was forgotten.

Even the fact she was in an elevator with her jerk of a husband. The only thing on her mind was that he was kissing her senseless right now and she was loving it. He pushed her harder against the wall, and thrust his tongue between her lips.

She gripped onto his shirt as lust and passion overtook her, so that if her weak knees decided to give out she wouldn't fall to the floor. She felt him grip the sides of her face as he slowly, but hungrily caressed her lips with her own, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth and sucking on it sensually.

His hand traveled lower and he lifted her leg around his waist, her bare skin rasped against his slacks, his other hand planted firmly on her bottom. Then the elevator jumped, bringing Sango back to her senses. "Miroku, stop it!" She shoved him back, and he dizzily stumbled backwards, his mind in a fog.

"Sango…"

"Don't…" She tried to catch her breath. "_Don't touch me every again!"_ She exclaimed, loudly. She grasped onto the rail as the elevator shot up again.

"We're moving…" Miroku said, sounding just a tad disappointed.

"Thank Kami…" Sango said, relieved. That was too close. Too close for comfort and Miroku was looking way to sexy for comfort as well. She had to get out of this elevator. Who knows what would have happened if they had taken any longer fixing it.

Miroku watched her chest move up in down as she tried to catch her breath, and Sango scowled at him. "Stop looking at me, pervert! I'll be so _glad_ when this divorce is over!" She lied.

"What? I can't look at you now?" He asked. "You know, technically, you're still my wife until those papers are signed."

"Shut up, Miroku!" Sango snapped angrily, and was more than happy when the doors dinged open. "If I ever get stuck in an elevator again, I hope it's not with you!"

"Why are you angry? I didn't do anything…" He said, innocently walking beside her. He must have turned her on, if he hadn't she wouldn't have been acting this way. It was actually a good sign he supposed.

Sango stopped in front of Hamilton's office and looked at him. "You know what you did. Don't act innocent!" She said. "Now act normal for once please…"

Miroku squinted at the name on the door. "Hamilton Alexander. Hey, isn't that the guy that Amber cheated on Nelly with like…forever ago?"

She looked at the name and thought back, to yet another dark time in her and Miroku's relationship, when she was dating Jayceon and Amber was with Hamilton. Back to the time when Miroku and Nelly had really bonded. "I think. But don't mention that, it's not important."

"I guess you're right." He said, and she opened the door.

Hamilton smiled at the both of them. He was so different from what he used to be in high school. His office was immaculate, his desk polished, fake plants flanked the side of a bookshelf full of encyclopedia's and law books. He, himself, was distinguished, matured, and handsome. "Mr. and Mrs. Keseki?" He asked.

"Yes, sir." Miroku replied, and Sango nodded, though she preferred to be called 'Ms. Noriko' again. But that's why she was here…to get away from Miroku. The same man she wanted to push away and pull close at the same time.

"Please have a seat." Hamilton said, sitting down in his chair. He glanced at them briefly as he searched through his files, then he stopped. "Excuse me, if I'm wrong, but did you two go to Degrassi high school?" (A.N: I couldn't think of a name. lol I love Degrassi. XD, I'm a nerd)

Sango looked over at the monk, then they both looked at Hamilton. "Uhm, yes…we…went there."

"I knew I recognized you too. Wow, you're Amber's friends right?" He asked.

"Yes." Miroku replied. "Close friends. Well, Sango is…with Amber. I'm more of…Nelly's friend."

"Ah." Hamilton said, smiling. "Nelly. Yes, I remember him. He stole her back from me. How are those two doing now?"

Sango crossed her legs nervously. "They're…getting married." She told him, not wanting to look at him.

"Wow." Hamilton chuckled. "Oh well, it was worth a shot. Ha, they're getting married and you're getting a divorce. Isn't that funny?" He saw the look of disdain on Sango's face and then at a very uncomfortable looking monk. "OK, maybe not so funny. Well, uhm…I better do my job. Mr. Keseki, you sign here, and Ms. Noriko, I guess I should call you, you sign here."

He made two X marks at the bottom of the page and slid the paper over to Miroku.

Miroku picked up a pin and placed it to the paper, but he couldn't seem to will himself to write his own name. He stopped, then slid the paper over to Sango. "Ladies first."

Sango was shocked, but snatched the pen away from him. "You're being ridiculous." She said, agitatedly. Then placed the pen on the paper. She read it over one last time before she signed.

It talked about joint custody of the children and child support. Splitting up of property and rights and all sorts of things that were jumbling her mind. She slowly lowered the pen to the paper and she couldn't do it.

She couldn't sign her name. The way his lips felt against hers kept entering her mind and she just felt like crying. That kiss was still tingling on her lips and she tried to stop the wonderful feeing. "I…I can't do this…" She stood up. "I'm sorry."

Hamilton and Miroku watched as she ran out of the office, trying to act as dignified as she could. The houshi peered back over at Hamilton. "I better go talk to her."

"Alright. Uhm, we can reschedule, I suppose." He said, smiling. "Good luck, man."

Miroku simply smiled and looked back to see Sango impatiently waiting by the elevator. "Hey…"

"Don't come near me." She said, grateful that the elevator had opened up empty. She quickly entered it and pressed the shut door button just as Miroku walked through it, sandwiching the poor monk in between the heavy doors.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed. "Don't be so violent." He said, the doors quickly sprang back into the wall. Then he entered the elevator, much to Sango's dismay.

"Get out."

"This is a public elevator." Miroku reminded her, he was planning on teasing her, try to get under her skin, but her voice shook with tears and he decided against it. "Hey, look, don't cry, OK?"

"Everything was fine…until…" She trailed off as sob's overtook her.

"Until what?" He pressed on, his voice soft and soothing. He lowered his gaze towards her "Tell me what's wrong."

"Until you…kissed me!" She said, wiping her eyes, her make up running down her face. "Now look what you made me do."

Miroku said nothing, just offered his jacket to wipe her tears with. "I don't care if you get mascara on it. I can always wash it…" He said casually, as she continued to cry. Women and their emotions. He was glad he was a man, because if he wasn't he would most definitely have been crying as well.

He leaned over and pressed the lobby button on the elevator, then turned back towards her. "Was kissing me really that bad? You know you have lived through it before…" He said, winking.

Why did she feel like grinning? "Don't make me laugh, Miroku."

"You would rather cry?"

"Yes."

Miroku sighed. "Alright." She handed him back his jacket and he slung it over his shoulder. The elevator stopped on the bottom floor and fortunately, (or maybe unfortunately, for Miroku) it opened.

She stood timidly by the wall, watching him, he pressed a firm, yet gentle kiss on her forehead, then gave her a smile. "I just want you to do what makes you happy." He said, softly. Then he turned from her and walked away from her rather quickly before Sango could come back with something witty to say.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

_Sango pulled her white Honda, that she had just gotten out of the shop Friday morning, into the parking lot of a small café. It was empty at this point in the afternoon, after the lunch hour and before the dinner rush, so she figured it would be a good place to meet Miroku to pick up the girls to spend another weekend with their dad._

_She saw him standing, by his car, absently kicking at an orange leaf with his foot on the blacktop. Akira twisted around in her seat and waved over the window at him, as Hitomi struggled to see him from her position on the other side of the backseat. _

_Miroku waved back at them, then looked at Sango as she parked beside him. His eyes were shielded by the same pair of blue-tinted sunglasses he wore just two days before and she didn't even know why he was wearing them, it was an overcast day, calling for rain. But she had to admit, he was stunningly attractive in them._

"_Yo!" He called out, as she opened the car. He pulled the sunglasses off and his eyes shimmered like they always did when he looked at her. _

_Akira unhooked her seatbelt and stood on her knees in her car seat. "Daddy!"_

"_Hey there. You ready to go spend another weekend with me?" He asked, trying to sound cheerful for his children, but all week he had been dying inside. All four of them being together again just reminded him of how much he missed having a family, and it killed him._

_Sango opened the other side of the car and helped Hitomi out, and Akira quickly climbed out of the backseat, ignoring the pain in her arm as she balanced herself against the car. "Daddy!"_

_Miroku lifted her up high in the air, and Hitomi grabbed onto his leg. "I missed you guys!" He picked Hitomi up and kissed her cheek, then put both of them down. "You guys go on and get in, alright?"_

_He looked up at Sango, and everything was quiet and awkward for a moment. He wondered what she could have been thinking. He wanted to tell her that he missed her, he missed everything he had with her, everything they were, but instead he came out with something totally different. "I'll make sure Akira sleep on the bed with the wall this time."_

_Sango brushed a lock of stray hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear and nodded. "That would be a good idea."_

"_Yea…" He grinned with a small chuckle. "Well, I'll call you tonight, let the girls say goodnight to you."_

"_Alright." Sango said, then turned away, but he grabbed her hand just as she tugged on her car handle. She sighed. "What?"_

"_Look at me." Miroku said, softly. She lifted her gaze up to meet his. "Do you miss me at all?"_

"_Why do you have to do this, Miroku?"_

"_Because I need to know." His voice was slightly raised and he quickly calmed himself. "Sango, that apartment is so quiet and lonely. I can't even stand to sleep in our bed anymore."_

_She averted her gaze away from him. "I…I almost forgot their clothes." She said, opening the back door. "Here." She handed him a pink heart-printed tote bag. "It should be enough for the weekend."_

_Miroku put it around his shoulder, never taking his eyes off her. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair again, lay beside her and enjoy the soft, feminine scent of her skin and savor the taste of her kiss. "Thanks." He said, softly. _

_So she was really over him, huh? Why shouldn't she be? He was the one who ruined it all. If he would have just pushed Emma away a second earlier…everything would have been alright. _

_Sango looked away from him, then pulled her hand from his grasp, feeling the cool fall air on her skin. "I have to go, Houshi-sama…"_

"_Alright, Taijya-san." He said grinning. "I guess we're back to formalities?"_

_She pulled her car door shut with a thud and gave him a small smile. "I'll see you Sunday, same place, same time to pick them up."_

"_Alright." He said. "I…I love you."_

"_Miroku…just…don't…" She said, pulling her seatbelt across her shoulder, then backing out of her parking space. "Goodbye."_

_************************************************************************_

_Hideko pulled the zipper on Amber's dress up her back. "Sango-chan, get me those cute shoes we saw over by the wall."_

_Sango kneeled down by the wall and picked up a pair of shiny white shoes, covered in sequences that seemed to make the heels sparkle. "These?"_

"_Yes." Hideko said, smiling. "Put these on, Amber. Why do you have to be so short?"_

_Amber scowled down at the half-demon. "I can't help it." She said, slipping on the shoes. "How's that?"_

"_A little better. Are you sure this is the dress you want?" Hideko asked. "I liked the pink one with the butterfly in it better." She said._

"_You're supposed to wear white on your first marriage." Amber argued. "It's only if you get divorced that you--" she stopped, and might as well had shoved both her feet, heels and all, in her mouth._

_Sango looked at her and smiled. "It's OK." She said. "It doesn't bother me."_

"_Uhm," The blond half-demon was beginning to feel quite awkward. "We've been at this all morning! Why don't we take a break? Who's up for lunch?"_

_Lunch. Sango didn't feel much like eating, in fact she hadn't eaten much in the past week. Despite the fact, she should have been… "Uhm, alright."_

"_You __need_ to eat something, Sango." Amber pointed out, almost falling over in her heels. "You've gotten so tiny over the past week. I'm worried about you. I know you're sad over Miroku."

"Don't worry about me." She said, gathering her purse. "It's just running after the girls and everything…it's a lot of exercise. Terrible 4's." She said, trying to steer the conversation away from Miroku.

How come every time she was around her friends, they always brought up that stupid, womanizing monk? "And it has nothing to do with Miroku! I like Rob anyway." She exclaimed. "Now where are we going to eat? I'm actually kind of hungry."

"Pasta house?" Hideko suggested. "They have really good oriental Ramen and rice."

"Alright, we'll go there." Amber agreed. "Anyone want to help me out of this dress?"

"No. Not really." Hideko said, giggling, and Sango shook her head and smiled.

"I'll help you, Amber." She said.

************************************************************************

Miroku tapped a pencil against the kitchen table repeatedly, zoned out. Nelly peered up at him from over his news paper. "Dude…"

The houshi sat up straight and looked over at Nelly. "Huh?"

"That's annoying!" Nelly informed him, taking the writing utensil from his hand, then continued to read again.

Miroku just sighed loudly. It was a lonely, miserable sound and Nelly found it almost as annoying as the pencil tapping.

"OK, monk, you won. Tell me what's wrong." Nelly said, folding his newspaper.

"Nothing's wrong!" Miroku exclaimed. "I'm perfectly happy."

"It's Sango isn't it?" His friend asked, seeing right through his façade. Miroku looked miserably up at him, through one violet eye, the other covered tiredly by his hand.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yea." Nelly said. "You walk around here like you just lost your best friend."

"I did lose my best friend!" Miroku said, standing up. "I mean, you're my best friend, too. But she…"

"I know what you mean…" Nelly told him. "When I lost Amber to Hamilton, I felt like my whole world had just crashed. But I picked myself up and dated other women."

"Yea, but my situation is more complicated." Miroku argued. "I'm married. I have children. I can't just forget about her." He leaned against the kitchen counter, his back facing Nelly as he peered out the window. "She's the women I built my life with, the mother of my children…"

Nelly frowned and stood up, then placed his hand on his shoulder. "You need to show her who's the man in this relationship. C'mon, I know you. You're still the womanizing pervert you were when you first came here, I'm sure someone likes you."

Miroku turned around and grinned. "Well, there is this one girl…"

"Ah! See? Alyssa was it?" Nelly asked.

"Yea. Alyssa."

"Why don't you call her up and see what she's up to? It's Saturday night, you shouldn't be stuck here." Nelly suggested.

Miroku looked down at his cell phone to see that Alyssa had actually already tried to call him, but he hadn't bothered picking up. "What about the kids?" he asked, flipping his phone shut.

"We'll watch them like we did last week. You should uh…invite her up tonight."

Miroku laughed and shook his head. "If Sango found out about that she would undoubtedly kill me." He said. "I am pretty horny though…. But I'm through with just using women. I'm too mature for that now, I'm not 17 anymore."

"You find her attractive don't you?" Nelly pressed on, winking.

Miroku pushed himself away from the counter. "Why do you want me to sleep with this woman so bad?"

"I don't really care, myself. I'm just saying, I think you should try and move on. I just hate seeing you walk around here so sad all the time." His best friend said. "Besides, you said yourself she was beautiful."

"I said she was pretty, not beautiful." Miroku retorted. "She's not Sango. No one is."

"Well, of course not. No one's ever going to be able to replace her, but you can find someone to fill the void."

Miroku looked at Nelly then at his phone and with a small grin, he flipped it open. "You're right. I'll give her a call."

************************************************************************

"Are you kidding me?" Miroku asked in disbelief, as Nelly placed a cold rag on Amber's forehead. "I have to take the girls with me on my date?"

"I'm sorry, dude." Nelly apologized and set a glass of ginger ale beside her. "Amber's sick, I wouldn't want to neglect your girls while taking care of her. You'll be fine, Alyssa's a preschool teacher, she loves kids."

"I know." Miroku said, sighing. "Alright, well maybe we can go putt-putt or something. I think they would like that. Oh, but Nelly, promise me, if you see Sango, you won't say a _word_ to her. I get the feeling she doesn't like girls around Alyssa outside of school."

"I promise, I won't say a word." Nelly promised.

************************************************************************

One game of putt-putt later, Miroku sat at an outside restaurant on the beach. Akira had been unusually quiet, and Hitomi seemed just a little upset, but he couldn't figure out why.

"So, Miroku…" Alyssa said. "You alone tonight?"

"Uh…not really." He said, gesturing towards the twins. "I've got them for the weekend again." He said, wondering why he was already making excuses.

"Oh…" She said, leaning over the table a bit so the front or her top fell down, exposing her cleavage and a little more than she bargained for. Miroku's eyes immediately averted to that place of interest and she smiled seductively. "Well, I'm sure they fall asleep pretty early."

"By 11 most nights." He said, nervously. Well, getting her to come into his apartment with him wouldn't be hard at all, she pretty much just invited herself in. "I suppose you could come up for a couple drinks, maybe a movie?"

Alyssa smiled and stood up. "Your girls look pretty tired…we should probably head back now…" She said softly, her eyes were narrowed and shimmered with lust and Miroku felt a rush of excitement.

"Alright." Miroku said, paying for the bill with a few hundred yen. "Let's go girls." He said, lifting Akira out of her chair. "Will you get Hitomi for me?"

"Sure." Alyssa said, picking her up, only to have her wriggle free. She set her down and Hitomi immediately ran up to Miroku and peered up at him with the same blue eyes as him.

"I want mommy." She bleated. "I miss her." She glanced over at Alyssa, trying to put everything together, but she was just too young to understand.

"You can see mommy tomorrow." Miroku said, grabbing onto her hand. "She's taking you guys back tomorrow afternoon."

Hitomi gripped onto his hand and continued to walk towards the car, Akira was slung over his shoulder quickly falling asleep. "I don't know why everything had to change, daddy. Why are you and mommy fighting?"

"Hitomi…please." Miroku said, with a sigh. "As soon as we get home, it's straight to bed for both of you. Now, c'mon, into the car." He said, lifting her up into the car, and she obediently climbed in her car seat. Miroku buckled her in and then did the same with Akira, who's head lolled off the side as she slept.

Alyssa slid into the passenger seat as Miroku settled behind the wheel. "You look gorgeous tonight as always."

Miroku grinned and started the engine. "You've told me that quite a few times tonight."

She giggled girlishly, and let her long brown hair fall over her shoulders. It wasn't quite as long or as pretty as Sango's, but he wasn't going to compare her. He wouldn't allow himself to do that again.

"It's true, though." Alyssa said, rubbing her hands on his shoulders. "You're so tense. I think you need a massage tonight."

"Ah, a massage would be nice." He agreed, turning right down a road. "You give good massages?"

Alyssa nodded. "I was going to be a massage therapist, but then I decided I wanted to work with children."

"Very cool." Miroku said. "And how old are you again?"

"I'm 20." She replied with a smile.

"Hope you don't mind an older man. I'm 24." He said, glancing at her.

"I love older men." She said, winking. "Especially cute ones, like you. They're so experienced…" She leaned her head on his shoulder and ran her hand down his chest. "You have a fantastic body."

Miroku shifted in his seat a bit, feeling a little hot under the collar. Literally. "Thanks…" He said, grateful that the apartment building was in view as he drove up the road.

He parked his camero in a parking space, and quickly got out of the car, allowing the cool fall air to chill his heated body. Why was he doing this? He opened up the car door and unbuckled Akira, who was still asleep, and then Hitomi. He carried them in both his arms as he entered the building and started towards the elevator.

"Which floor do you live on?" She asked, as she pressed the button.

"23."

"Wow." Alyssa said. "Long way to go."

"It's private up there. You can't hear anyone else's noises in the building." Miroku explained. "That's why Sango and I picked it…"

Sango and I this, Sango and I that. He had been doing that all night and it was driving him mad. He stepped into the elevator and put Hitomi on the ground, who tiredly leaned her head on his leg. "Someone's sleepy…"

Hitomi yawned. "I'm not sleepy…"

"Yes you are." He said, punching the 23rd button on the elevator. "It's almost past your bedtime." Alyssa moved closer to him as the elevator started to move upward.

"Wouldn't it be kind of romantic if we got stuck in here together?" She asked. "Well, without the kids…think of all the fun things we could do…" Her voice was sensual and seductive, but all Miroku could think about was when the elevator got stuck at the lawyer's office. And how Sango had kissed him back with such passion his entire body felt like it was on fire.

He chuckled and leaned against the wall of the elevator. "You're a fast one aren't you?" He asked.

"Not normally." She admitted, sheepishly with a blush. "But around you, I can't help myself." She said, leaning her head against his chest. "MMMM, you smell so nice."

Miroku wrapped his arm around her. "You smell nice, too." He complimented just as the door slid open. He walked out with one arm wrapped around Alyssa and the other supporting Akira as she hung over his shoulder, Hitomi obediently fallowed behind him tiredly.

He opened his apartment door, and as if on cue, Akira woke up. "Daddy?"

"We're home." He announced, putting her down. "It's bedtime."

Akira yawned tiredly and wobbled on her feet as he eyes threatened to close again. Miroku closed and locked the door behind him. "Go get ready for bed, I'll be in there in a minute."

"OK." Akira agreed, sleepily and ambled into her bedroom, fallowed by Hitomi.

Miroku turned to face Alyssa who stood in his apartment awkwardly. "Uhm, you can go ahead and make yourself at home. I have to go in here and tell them a bedtime story."

"Oh, Alright." Alyssa said, grinning and then sat down on his couch. "This is a nice place…"

"Thank you." Miroku said, laying his car keys on the kitchen table, then leaned against the wall. "My wife picked out the curtains, and the carpet, and the paint." He laughed. "She said I didn't know how to coordinate colours."

She giggled and checked her hair in her compact mirror. "Well, I'm not too big a fan of your wife, but she did a nice job."

"Daddy." A small voice came from behind him and he turned around.

"Alright, I'm coming." He sighed out, then turned from her. "I'll only be a few minutes."

"Take your time." Alyssa said, putting her mirror away in her purse.

She sat in the quiet of the house, listening to his oh-so beautiful voice coming from the other room as he told some elaborate tale he made up out of his head. The man had a gorgeous voice and she could have sat there and listened to it all night if it wasn't for the fact that her curiosity was getting the better of her.

Her eyes kept averting towards his bedroom and wondered what the inside of it looked like. She listened to him for a few more minutes and came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be done with his bedtime story for at least a little while longer.

She tiptoed towards his bedroom door and slowly squeaked it open. She flipped on the light near the wall and saw that his bedroom was littered with clothes and empty Wacdonald's wrappers. Men. They were all the same.

Alyssa ventured further into his room and looked at his dresser. He still hadn't bothered to take down his wedding picture or family photos. Besides the ones of his wedding day, there was one of him out in the yard with Sango and the girls, another of just him and Sango at the park, and then one of just Sango, that was slightly moved as if he had been looking at it.

That was the one sho flipped down. If she was going to sleep with him tonight, she didn't want photos of her to be visible, but she didn't want to piss him off by flipping over all of his pictures. She could feel herself quickly falling in love with this man, and it hurt her to see that he was apparently still hung up on the brunette that seemed to litter his dresser full of pictures.

Then, she became even more curious and started opening drawers, knowing that she shouldn't have been doing such things.

Back in the twins' bedroom, Miroku finished up his story and pulled the covers over Hitomi and Akira carefully. They were both sound asleep and he remembered to crack the door for Hitomi. He was getting good at this.

He smiled in relief and then walked into the living room where Alyssa was nowhere in sight. He peered around corners curiously. "Alyssa?"

"In here, sexy." She said, seductively.

The monk raised an eyebrow and peered towards his bedroom, what was she trying to do? Get him in bed already? Not that he was complaining… He opened the door curiously and looked over towards the bed where she was laying.

She bounded up to him, dressed in a white see-through bra and panties set, with a sheer midriff and a garter belt. "You like it?"

Miroku's eyes widened as he looked at her. "Yea, I love it. Wow." He grinned. "You waste no time turning me on do you?"

Alyssa giggled shyly and approached him slowly. "I want you."

He peered down at her and he felt her grip both his wrists and force them to her behind, where he took advantage and gave her a nice squeeze. "You like that?"

"Yes." Alyssa said, then placed a kiss on his lips, pulling him towards the bed quickly.

He bumped his toe against the bed post and she pulled away from him quickly. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"

"No…it's alright. Happens to me all the time." He said, laughing, even though his big toe was in mortal pain. His eyes fell on her again as she crawled on the bed. "Hey, I've seen that somewhere before…"

Alyssa looked down at herself. "Seen what?"

"That lingerie set…" He said, furrowing his brow. "I think I saw it…oh…" He paused. "That's my wife's…"

A blush came to her cheeks and she giggled, embarrassed. "I…I wanted to be sexy for you…I…I….are you mad?"

Miroku laughed and shook his head. "No, no, no. I'm not mad. Sango would be pretty pissed off…" he said with a chuckle. "but…no, I mean you actually look…nice." He saw the look of disappointment on her face and quickly changed his word. "Sexy, even." He said, and the smile returned to her face.

"I bet it looks even better off…" Alyssa said, sitting up on her knees and pulling down the bra straps. "You want to help?"

"We can take it slow." He said, pulling them back up, which he didn't even know why he did it. When Sango had worn that for their anniversary, she hadn't even had it on five minutes before he pulled it off and tossed it to the floor.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, smiling, tapping him playfully on the nose. "So you're the romantic type,hm?"

"Somewhat." Miroku said, smiling back at her.

"I bet your horny aren't you?" She asked, positioning herself in front of him and rubbed his shoulders again. "I promised you a massage."

"Oh yes." He closed his eyes. Her touch wasn't quite as soft and delicate as Sango's, but he was still enjoying it. "My neck's really been bothering me."

"Oh it has?" She asked, grinning. Then he felt her run her tongue along the back of his neck. He moaned sensually, then turned around to stare at her again. His eyes scanned over her body and instead of paying attention to her breasts and thighs like he normally would have, he, instead, wondered why Sango hadn't taken these with her.

Maybe she wasn't planning on sleeping with anyone, or if she was, she wasn't going to make a show out of it. He felt relieved at that little thread of knowledge, then he suddenly felt guilty.

If she wasn't out sleeping with other men, like _Rob_, then why should he be out sleeping with other women? He pushed the thought of his mind for the moment, and crushed his lips to Alyssa's. He was sexually frustrated, and he had been for the past couple weeks. He needed release, but he wasn't sure if this was the form he wanted it to take.

Alyssa rubbed the back of his head, and ran her fingers through his hair, tugging at the small binding at the nape of his neck. "You have beautiful hair." She said, between kisses.

Miroku smiled at the compliment and pushed her backwards onto the bed. "You have beautiful everything." He said with a wink. How many times had he said that to Sango? Only, he actually meant it. Everything about Alyssa was attractive. Moderately attractive. The everyday humdrum of the normal village girl back in the feudal era, or the average woman of this time.

The houshi knew, all too well, that she was a far cry from the exotic beauty Sango had. But that was gone from him forever, and he would just have to except it. He blew it with her, probably forever, and he just had to learn to live with it.

He kept telling himself that in his mind, but he still felt guilty, almost as if he was cheating on her. The scent of the bedroom, the feel of the mattress under his weight, it was all too familiar for him. He almost felt as if Sango was watching him, aiming a gun at his head, which would be exactly what she would be doing if she knew what he was up to.

Alyssa pulled him down towards her and kissed him passionately on the mouth as if trying to pull him away from the momentary distraction he was having. Normally, that probably would have worked, but he couldn't stop himself from looking up and glancing at their wedding picture.

It was a day of happiness, the day they promised to be together forever. The day they said 'I do' until death do them part. And he had ruined it. This had to stop, he had to stop thinking about the past and live in the here and now. He had always been the type of guy to just live in the moment, but right now his mind was stuck in the past, obsessing over something that was over and done with. The only proof of their marriage was the twins, nothing more.

He pulled away from her and Alyssa looked up at him, perplexed by his strange actions. "Miroku, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just…" He walked over towards his dresser and peered down at his picture. "I just have to flip these over…they're distracting…" he said with a small chuckle.

"Oh." She said, watching him as he took one long glance down at his wedding picture, then flipped it over. He flipped over the others too, then came to the last one, which was already turned down. Did he do that?

He couldn't remember, but he knew exactly what it was and he didn't want to look at it. It would only make getting what he wanted that much harder, and it would make him feel that much more guilty.

He walked back over towards Alyssa, determined he was going to do this. Alyssa pulled off his shirt and he pushed her backwards onto the bed. Then she stopped. "Oh, what happened to your shoulder?" She asked, running her fingers over the scar just below his clavicle.

"Oh, this? I…I got shot…" He responded, and she gasped. "It was a long time ago, right before…" He stopped.

"Right before what?"

Miroku sighed, as she sat up on her knees and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Right before Sango and I got married." He finally said. Buddha just didn't want him to get lucky tonight, apparently. It seemed like everything he did reminded him of Sango, even holding Alyssa in her arms he would think about her.

"Oh, wow. I'm…I'm sorry about that." She said softly.

Just then, the bedroom door flew open and Akira leaned through the doorframe and snapped a quick picture, then giggled and slammed the door again.

Miroku quickly jumped off the bed and grabbed his shirt. "Fuck! Damn it! I thought she was asleep!"

Alyssa got off the bed and wrapped a sheet around herself, embarrassed that the lingerie set she had chosen to "borrow" was see-through. "Did she just take a picture of us?"

"I think so." Miroku ran his fingers through his hair. "Don't worry, I'll get the camera tomorrow before they go back with Sango. She won't see it, I promise."

"Oh…OK." Alyssa said, unsurely. "Do you still want to…"

The monk turned back to face her, feeling like a complete fool for saying what he was about ready to say. "Actually, I really don't know, Alyssa. Maybe not tonight, I'm really tired and I have to get the girls back in bed."

She looked down rather sadly and Miroku thought she might actually burst out into tears, but instead she just pulled her clothes from the floor. "Right, well…at least let me keep you company?"

"Sure. I'd like that." Miroku said, smiling. "It would be nice not to be lonely for once, but…no sex. Not tonight anyway."

"I understand." She said, brushing her hand across his arm. "That's what makes me love you. You're still so faithful to her, even though, you're not together anymore." She reached up and kissed his cheek, then went into the bathroom to change.

And he realized. Alyssa was right. He had been faithful to Sango over the past week or so, but he couldn't go on forever like this. He did have needs and since she was no longer around to help him satisfy those needs, what was he supposed to do?

He didn't feel like analyzing it tonight. He just wanted to get some sleep, so he stepped out to make sure the girls were sound asleep in their bedroom. If they weren't, they were doing a good job of pretending. He smiled and cracked the door once again, he knew first thing in the morning, he would have to find that camera.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

"_Alright, girls. Rise and shine." He said, loudly, clapping his hands. Akira just turned over, using her good arm to pull the covers back over her head. Hitomi winced at the loud sound and the bright sunlight that shined through the now open blinds. "C'mon, breakfast is ready." He said, shaking Hitomi gently._

"_Daddy…" Akira groaned, shutting her eyes tighter. _

"_Ah, see. You're only tired because you stayed up late last night taking pictures…" He said, casually. "Which, by the way, where is that camera?"_

"_Nowhere…" She responded, and pulled the covers over her head again. Miroku thought about jerking the Barbie quilt back once more, but decided against it. If she couldn't see him fumbling around in her toy box, then he could get it found a lot faster._

_He opened up the pink toy chest when he was sure that Hitomi had fallen back asleep. He pulled out a few Barbies, a teddy bear, a doll dress, and one of Sango's high heels that one of them (probably Akira) stole from her closet. She had been looking for it for months…_

_He stared at it for a few minutes, remember how beautiful her feet looked in the criss-cross strapped open toe shoe…then he remembered he was looking for the camera._

_Before too long, he had emptied the entire toy chest, and still had no luck. Great. _

"_Miroku?" _

_He heard his voice being called from the kitchen and stood up. "I'm coming Alyssa." He said, quickly putting the toys back in the treasure chest. "Alright, for real guys, come on get up. We have to meet mommy at 2:00, and you two still need a bath."_

_Akira pushed herself up and glared at him through tired brown eyes. "I'm still sleepy."_

"_And that's your fault." He said, smiling. "C'mon…you too, Hitomi."_

_He walked back into the kitchen, leaving their bedroom door open. Alyssa smiled at him as he entered the room. "You're cell phone rang, I think it was your wife."_

_Miroku raised an eyebrow in question and picked his phone up from the counter. "How do you figure that?"_

"_Well, it said 'Sango' on the call screen."_

"_That would be a good reason." He said with a laugh. "It's probably about picking up the girls today. She's probably just trying to remind me…" He said tiredly, then laid the phone back down on the counter._

"_Miroku…?"_

"_Yes?" He asked._

"_Does she know…about you and me?" Alyssa asked, hopefully._

_(No.) That was exactly what he was thinking. But if he told her that, it would only spark another question: 'Why?'. "Of course she knows." Miroku lied._

_Akira bounded into the kitchen, more awake than what she had been when he was in there. "Good morning, daddy." She said, happily, climbing up in a chair, despite her hurt arm._

"_Well, good morning, sleeping beauties." He said. "Are you guys hungry?"_

"_Yes." They answered in unison. "We want peanut butter jelly sandwiches." Akira said, glancing at him._

"_Peanut butta' jelly time!" Miroku chanted randomly, then quickly stopped. He forgot, Alyssa didn't know he was slightly random at times and he didn't want to scare her off, but she had simply laughed. Just like Sango used to do…_

_Crap, there he goes again, thinking about her. (Stop it, monk. Stop it.) He pulled out the bread, the peanut butter and the jelly and set to work on making two sandwiches._

_After he was finished, he put it in front of both of them. "Let me guess, kool-aid to drink, right?"_

_They both nodded, and Akira pulled the top piece of bread up to look under. "Daddy…"_

"_What?" He asked, carelessly as he pulled down two cups. He couldn't find the "sippy" cups, Sango must have taken them all. _

"_You didn't cut the crusts off." Akira told him._

"_Yea, the crust is gross." Hitomi said. "Mommy always cuts the crusts off and then cuts it in half, and you didn't put enough jelly on mine."_

"_Hitomi got more Peanut butter than me." Akira spoke up. _

_The monk sighed and walked over. "Then switch…" He said. "Here, I'll cut the crusts off." He picked up the two sandwiches and cut the edges off with a knife, then cut the sandwiches in half down the middle. _

_He switched the items between the two of them. "There is that better?"_

_Alyssa was watching in amusement, despite the fact she could see Miroku's nerves were frayed by this. The two girls still didn't look too happy._

"_Daddy…" Hitomi was the one who spoke up first._

_He groaned and sat down next to her at the table. "What now?"_

"_Mommy always cuts it diagonal, not across." Akira finished for her sister. "That's not the way mommy makes it, daddy."_

_He banged his head against the table repeatedly. Alyssa giggled from the kitchen and then his phone rang. She peered down at the screen and looked over at him. "It's…her…"_

_Miroku looked up at her, glad to see the girls were eating their sandwiches anyway, despite them not being exactly like Sango always made it. Maybe this was why women took care of children instead of men…._

_He grabbed his phone from the counter just before it went to his voicemail and flipped up the top. He cleared his throat. "Hello?"_

"_Hey…it's me." Sango's voice came over the other end and his heart pounded, even though he had known before he even picked up who it was. _

"_Oh, hey…" He said, feeling Alyssa burn lasers through the back of his head. "What's up?"_

"_I just wanted to tell you, I'm coming by to get the girls." She said, casually._

"_Yea, 2:00, right? Ayumi Café?" He asked, leaning against the counter._

"_Well, actually," Sango said, not knowing why she felt so apprehensive about this. "I have to come over on that side of town today anyway to get my bridesmaid's dress. I thought it would save gas if I just came by the apartment and got them."_

_Miroku felt panic rush through him. "Uh…well…uhm…" he stammered and paced the kitchen. "What time? Because…10:30?"_

"_Yes, Miroku, 10:30." She repeated matter-of-factly. "I tried calling you earlier, to give you more notice, but you didn't pick up. Have the girls eaten anything?"_

"_They're eating now." He answered, trying to sound casual. _

"_Good. I have to go now. I'm at the dress shop. I'll be there in 20 minutes."_

_20 minutes. Great. He had to find the camera and get Alyssa out in 20 minutes or his life was over. "Alyssa, uhm…you have to go."_

"_What? Why?"_

"_My wife is on her way, right now. And if she sees you here, she is going to be really mad at me." He said, smiling. _

"_But…you told her you were with me, didn't you?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_You said it yourself. You said that you told her you were with me, when I asked." Alyssa said, sitting down at the table, next to Akira._

_Miroku twitched nervously. He did say that, didn't he? How did he always get himself into these messes? "Akira, listen to me really carefully…" he said, grabbing her attention immediately. "Go in your room and get your camera, and bring it to me, OK?"_

_She made a thoughtful face for a moment, then took another bite of her sandwich. "I don't know what I did with it."_

"_Akira…" Miroku folded his arms and looked at her. "Go and get it, right now." He deepened his voice and Akira was slightly taken aback. _

"_Yes, daddy." She said, pushing her chair out and rushing off to her room as fast she could go._

"_Hitomi, go help your sister find the camera…" He ordered._

"_But, daddy…"_

"_Don't argue with me, princess." He warned, and watched her fallow Akira into their bedroom. He sighed and sat down next to the table. "I've got to delete that picture before the girls show it to Sango."_

_Alyssa leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, just like Sango used to, and for a moment he thought he could replace the warm safe feeling he used to get with the demon slayer with Alyssa. But it wasn't the same. _

"_Look, Alyssa, I… I know how Sango is." Miroku said, facing her. "I know, she'll see you in this house, this early in the morning…she's going to assume we slept together."_

"_Well," Alyssa said, looking down. "why does she care? Isn't she dating someone else?"_

"_Yea. Well kind of…" He trailed off. "Not really."_

_Alyssa wrapped his arms around the back of his shoulders and kissed the side of his face once again. "But that doesn't mean you can't date other women…you __did_ sign the papers right?"

Miroku hesitated and played with the salt shaker on the table nervously. "Yes." He lied.

"OK, Then. Don't worry about it…" She assured him. "Are you really that scared of her?"

The monk chuckled a bit and looked up at her. "You don't know her…" He said with a smile. "She's quite violent when it comes to me and other women…"

Alyssa giggled and placed a kiss on his lips. "We could make her really jealous." She said softly, then the sound of the door opening and closing them jarred them both from their position at the kitchen table.

Sango walked in just in time to see Alyssa pulled away from him as he reclined back in the kitchen chair. She simply rolled her eyes and sat her purse on the kitchen table. "Sorry to interrupt you." She said curtly, eyeing Alyssa with extreme disdain.

Miroku stood up quickly. "Uhm I'll go get the girls. I think--"

"Mommy!" Hitomi cheered, running up to her and clutching onto her shirt. Sango smiled and picked her up.

"I missed you!" Sango exclaimed, hugging her tight, then turned to see Akira exiting the room with a small, green Tinkerbell camera.

Miroku's eyes grew wide. "Akira, can daddy see the camera?"

She pulled it away, out of his reach and shook her head. "No. I want to show mommy all the pictures I took this weekend."

Miroku was mortified. "Akira…"

Sango kneeled down so that she was eye level with her four year old and Hitomi climbed in Sango's back to peer over her shoulder at the display of pictures. Miroku watched nervously as she clicked through the pictures.

"Daddy took us putt-putt with Ms. Alyssa." Akira chimed up. Sango looked down at the picture then up at Miroku, then at Alyssa.

Sango pressed the next button and almost dropped the camera. "Oh Kami!"

"Sango, I can explain." Miroku said, racing towards her to grab the camera, but Sango snatched it up first.

"I don't need your explanation!" She yelled, peering down at the digital screen. "And why the hell is this fucking bitch wearing _my_ clothes?"

"Sango, honey, language."

"Fuck you, Miroku!" She said, then smacked him across his face with a loud pop. "You disgust me!"

The monk stood very still and placed his own, nervous, cold hands on the hot, burning skin on his face. She hadn't done that in years, and he had forgotten how painful it was. She still had a powerful slap and his head was still spinning from it.

"And as for you!" Sango said, glaring at Alyssa. "I just want to let you know that I look a hell of a lot better in that lingerie set than you do, and I've had two children!"

Alyssa was stunned by the brunette's outburst of anger, she was so shocked she couldn't say a word.

"Akira, Hitomi. Let's go now." She said, with no trace of sweetness in her voice, but Miroku could pick up on the tears behind the anger. She waited for them to drag their duffle bag out of their room, and she turned towards Miroku. "I should have signed those papers…"

Alyssa looked confused, and Miroku had a mix of emotions inside of him. Panic, sadness, hurt, anything but anger, because he knew she was right. He was a pathetic jerk, and he deserved to be slapped a lot harder than she had slapped him.

Miroku just stood in the middle of the kitchen as he listened to her heels click down the foyer hallway towards the front door. It was an empty, hallow and angry sound, much like the sound he heard on the day she left him. "Sango…"

His only response was the slamming of the door and then the eerie silence of the kitchen. That could only mean one of two things: Alyssa was hurt, or Alyssa was angry. He turned around to see that Alyssa was gathering her things and slipping on her shoes. She was angry.

"Alyssa."

"You lied to me! I thought you told me you were divorced!" She screamed. "I was wrong about you, Miroku!" She turned on one foot and then slammed the door harshly behind her, and Miroku was so shocked he couldn't even move.

Two women were angry with him now, and he blew his chance with both of them. Sango thought he had sex with Alyssa, when he really didn't. Alyssa was angry at him because he lied to her about signing the divorce papers.

Buddha just wasn't giving him a break today.

He sighed and plopped down in his recliner and turned on the television. American football was on, he supposed the would get his mind off Sango, which it didn't. It just made him think about her more for some reason.

Maybe because she was always nice enough to cook him dinner and serve him on hand and foot when his favourite team was playing. Damn it, he had it good and he blew it.

He flipped off the television after a measly five minutes of mindless watching and headed into the bedroom. He was brooding as he leaned against his dresser, his anger towards himself was mounting and he released it by knocking the pictures in the floor.

"Damn it!" He cursed out loud and punched the wall, then the tears started to fall from his eyes. "Sango, why did you have to leave me? Why can't you just come home?" He cried to himself as he leaned against the wall. He had never felt like this before. As if his entire chest was going to cave in and his heart was going to stop without warning. His entire body was in agony and he felt like he was being torn in two.

He turned around slowly and picked up a picture along with shards of glass. Only one of them broke apparently, and when he flipped it over he discovered it was his wedding picture. The glass had shattered just like their marriage and it was ironically frustrating. "Shit…" He cursed to himself and placed the picture on the dresser, than rearranged the other photos, that luckily didn't break, back on the dresser. Then he picked it up again and carried it over to the bed.

"I really don't need to lose my temper like that…" He said to himself. He gathered the glass and threw it away in the wastebasket, then pulled the picture out of the frame and plopped back on his bed and stared at it.

He remembered that day like it was yesterday, even though it had been five long years ago. He was 19, she was barely 18 and they had decided to spend the rest of their lives together. She had walked down the aisle towards him so sure and without hesitation.

Miroku remembered how ready he was, how happy he was, how there was no doubt in his mind that this is what he wanted. His wedding day had been the happiest day of his life and his wedding night would be something he would remember for the rest of his life.

Then something struck him that both excited him, and frightened him. He would have to walk up and down the aisle with her again this Saturday for Amber and Nelly's wedding.

************************************************************************

Amber hugged Sango comfortingly as she continued to cry. The young brown-haired bride-to-be scowled angrily. "I should rip that stupid monk's head off!"

"Why would he sleep with her?" Sango wiped her eyes and sat up as Sakura came in with a trey of cookies. She just peered at the small, tasty treats and cried harder. "They'll only make me fatter!"

Sakura frowned slightly, and Amber hugged Sango again. "Don't let that stupid jerk make you feel ugly." Amber told her. "He's the ugly one. He's lucky you even looked his way."

Sango pulled back from her and looked at her in disbelief. "Miroku's not ugly. I..stilll….I still love him, but he's hurt me so bad. I just don't know what to do with myself."

"Hey," Amber said, getting an idea. "why don't you just call Rob? I'm sure he'll love to take you out again. Besides, I kind of wanted to ask him something?"

Getting her mind off Miroku was hard to do, but for a moment Sango stopped crying and took a cookie from the trey. "What?"

"Well," Amber said, grabbing a cookie. "At the reception, I was thinking the kids would get bored. Especially Devon, he's such a brat." She said absently, referring to Raven and Seth's 3 year old son that had a knack for pulling Akira's pigtails whenever he was around. "I was thinking we could entertain the children with a magic show. If Rob's willing to do it. We'll pay him any amount of money he wants."

"That sounds like a nice idea." Sango agreed. "Speaking of the wedding…I know I have to walk down the aisle with Miroku…"

Amber frowned. "I know, Sango-chan. I tried talking Nelly into letting Wayne or Neyo be the best man, but he wants Miroku, though I don't know why…" She said, agitatedly. "I would switch you off with Hayden, but I really want you to be my matron…uhm…well maid of honor…" There she went with her foot in mouth syndrome again.

Sango simply smiled. "It's just one day…only for 2 minutes. I can handle it."

"Are you sure?"

Sango took a small bite of her cookie and nodded. "It's better than seeing Hayden hang all over him like a drunken monkey."

Amber giggled and stood up. "So true. C'mon, let's give Rob a call."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The week had flown by, and amazingly, Amber had managed to get everything in order before Friday night's rehearsal dinner. Sango did not like walking down the aisle with Miroku, and she only had to do it again tomorrow.

She had totally forgotten how a wedding was set up. Sure there had been weddings in their circle of friends after hers, after all, she was only the first to get married out of all of them, but she hadn't been in Raven and Seth's wedding, and she had just had the twins the day before Reggie and Hayden got married.

Sango sat at the table, picking at her food as Miroku sat across from her. She had overheard his conversation with Nelly about how Alyssa had walked out on him Sunday morning and she thought it was quite funny. He deserved it.

He deserved to be lonely and miserable, and he really deserved to have his heart broken. She kept telling herself that in her mind, but every time she looked over at him, he her heart melted. Miroku didn't deserve that, no one did. He looked absolutely miserable, and had he even lost some weight?

She knew exactly how it felt to be lonely and wishing that she could share a big empty bed with another person, preferably Miroku.

They hadn't spoken throughout the entire dinner, and maybe it had something to do with Rob who was sitting (in what Miroku thought to be a conspiracy) right next to Sango. Just a few stolen glances were shared between the monk and the ex-taijya and that was it.

Miroku passively poked at his baked potato, and Rob kept doing random magic tricks to entertain the kids. The monk rolled his eyes.

Raven set Devon down next to Akira, then walked off with Amber to the bathroom to discuss female things, things of which Miroku or Seth had no idea. Miroku didn't mind Raven's husband, they weren't exactly best friends, but Seth was a cool guy, though her husband always had the sneaking suspicion that Raven still wasn't quite over Miroku yet.

And Sango couldn't really blame her. He was a very difficult man to forget. He was a devoted husband (When he wanted to be), a loving father, and an amazing lover.

Her mind started to drift, but she was taken out of her daydreams when Akira screamed loudly as Devon yanked on her hair. "Akira."

Miroku grinned and picked up Devon and placed him in his lap. "Alright, enough flirting."

Devon quickly turned his head towards the monk and made a face. "Ew! She's gross."

"Oh, is she now?" He asked, laughing. "Well, then if she's so gross why do you always pull her hair?"

Devon looked over at his father, who just shrugged back at him, then grinned at the monk. "I think you outsmarted him."

Miroku chuckled and put him down on the floor. Devon stuck his tongue out to Akira, then shoved Hitomi out of his way. "Stupid girls." He muttered, and then spotted Keiko across the restaurant.

"I was like that at that age." Miroku commented casually and Sango couldn't help but grin.

"That doesn't surprise me." Sango commented, and he flashed her a grin.

"That's the first thing you've said to me all week." He said, softly. His vocal cords seemed to be paralyzed with shock.

"Well," Sango said, looking down at her burger that she had barely touched. "it's Amber and Nelly's wedding. We've been waiting a long time for this and I just think everyone should get along."

Rob wrapped his arm around her shoulder and peered over at the houshi. "Isn't she great? She's as sweet as an angel."

Miroku stabbed his potato with a knife. "Yea….she's something else." He muttered, giving Rob a bitter look.

Sango looked just a tad uncomfortable and busied herself with trying to get Hitomi to actually eat her dinner, which was futile because she wasn't going to eat unless she was hungry.

Sango knew she really should have been eating more, it wasn't healthy with the way she had been treating her body over the past couple of weeks. Her appetite just wasn't up to par, her depression was worsening and seeing Miroku right now with that charming grin and that goofy look on his face was only making it worse.

Kami, she missed him.

And tomorrow was only going to make it worse.

************************************************************************

There was a knock on the door of the back room where Sango was getting herself, and the girls dressed for the wedding. Akira and Hitomi were the flower girls, and they had two identical pink dresses, and a crown of roses, which Akira didn't like.

Sango struggled to zip up the back of her dress. "Uhm…come in."

The door opened and she immediately regretted allowing that person to come in, seeing as that person was Miroku. He flashed her a smile, though he knew she didn't want him in there. "Hey."

She sighed. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see if you were alright." Miroku said, leaning against the wall. "Hideko-chan said you've been in here for an hour."

Sango looked at herself in the mirror and made a face at how big her butt looked in the pink bridesmaid's dress. "I was just doing my make-up." She told him, softly.

Miroku stared at her, secretly admiring the way her dark brown hair was curled slightly around her shoulders, and how it fell down her back in ebony waves. "You need help with the dress?"

"You know," Sango said, looking at him. "You're not even supposed to be in here." She said, but then turned around her back facing him. After all, she _did_ need help with the zipper.

"Yea, I know, but I was worried about you." He said, pulling the zipper up with effort. Sango frowned. "Why do u look so sad?" He asked, softly, absently touching her back with his fingertips. He didn't even realize he was doing it until she smacked his hands away.

"I'm getting fat, you had a hard time zipping up my dress." She admitted, looking at herself in the mirror.

Miroku chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. It was too much of an intimate move for Sango's liking, but she felt so comfortable in his embrace that she didn't make a move to stop him. "That doesn't mean your fat. Stop saying that…" He murmured in her ear. "You look fantastic."

"Miroku, what are you doing?" She breathed, leaning against him, more for support than to encourage him. Her knees suddenly felt weak and she hated herself for allowing him to do this to her.

"I'm trying to apologize." He said, softly, nuzzling her neck and placing a small kiss on her shoulder. "I miss you."

Sango felt tears come to her eyes and she twisted herself out of his arms. "Miroku, don't do this. You…you slept with another woman in our bed. In our home. With our children there."

"Sango, listen to me. I didn't sleep with her."

"I saw the picture."

Miroku paused. "Well, I was going to, but all I could think about---"

"Don't make up anymore lies, Miroku." Sango stopped him and gathered the basket of flowers on the table for Hitomi and Akira to carry. "It's only going to make me angrier."

"Sango…"

She took Akira and Hitomi by the hands and led them out the door, then closed the door behind her with a click. Miroku stood in the middle of the room and peered at himself in the mirror.

"Oh, Houshi…you've really messed things up this time." He turned towards the door and left the room to take his place beside Nelly.

************************************************************************

Nelly twitched nervously as he stood beside Miroku. "Kami, I can't believe this is finally happening. After all these years, we're finally getting married."

"It's a big step in a man's life." Miroku commented, as he watched Usher (A/N: Lol, Usher being an usher) and Wayne seat the guests. "There's really no turning back…"

"I know. But I'm sure I want this, Miroku." Nelly assured him. "She's truly the love of my life."

The houshi simply smiled and nodded. "That's what I wanted to hear." He said, having flashbacks of his own wedding. When the doors opened up he couldn't help but think about how it was back then.

He was standing exactly where Nelly was over 5 years ago, and Sango was walking towards him in all white with a large bouquet of red and white roses. He could see everything so clear and it was actually quite depressing.

Hayden was the first to walk down the aisle and she winked at Miroku seductively as she took her place holding a tiny bouquet in her hands.

Miroku simply winked back. OK, So being single had it's pros and cons, he could flirt with Hayden and any other girl he wanted too, but at the same time he missed having that special bond with just one woman.

Raven was next to make her way down the aisle. Despite being married and having a 3 year old son with Seth Adams, she still flirted with the monk. It was ironic what could happen in 5 years. Miroku's ex-girlfriend had winded up married to his real estate agent that showed him the house that he got shot in. The two ended up getting married on a whim at a summer trip to Las Vegas in the United States.

Miroku always figured Raven would do something crazy and unpredictable like that.

Next was Hideko, the newly engaged, beautiful half-demon that made her small crush on him no secret. She smiled shyly at him as she made her way down the aisle, her fiancé, Kris, snapped picture of her as she walked by and commented how beautiful she looked with her hair and her dress. And Miroku had to admit, she _did_ look nice.

Very nice…

Then there was Sango. His heart jumped in his chest when he saw her, she had done something different with her hair since he had seen her back in the dressing room. She allowed a few dark strands to fall out around her face, and all the monk could do was stare.

Kami, what had he let go of?

Sango took her place beside Hideko, and then the congregation stood up and looked back at the door. Amber was in the door way, her arm linked with Brock's arm and he led her down the aisle towards Nelly.

Brock hugged her fatherly and let go of her hand and smiled at her, just like he had done to Sango just 5 years before.

Sango stood next to Amber and peered across the way to Miroku, who was staring at her as well. Akira and Hitomi waited impatiently by the side while Sakura held their hands. The girls really just wanted this to be over with so they could drop pretty flowers down the aisle like Sango had promised them.

She seemed to zone out for quite a while, just staring at Miroku. She admired how incredibly sexy and distinguished he looked in his suit, just as handsome as he had on their own wedding day. He made it look so effortless and easy, even back when he used to dress in his monk robes when he was an actually monk… he still looked amazing to her.

And he always would.

Kanye's loud voice jarred her from her zone and she peered up at Amber as they took the rings from the tiny pillow Devon was carrying. She watched as she placed the ring on Nelly's finger and he placed it on hers and they joined hands.

Miroku was watching as well, just as intently as Sango was and they both knew what the other was thinking. It was as if they could read each other's minds. She seemed to space out again until she heard loud cheers from the audience and she quickly handed the large bouquet over to Amber as Kanye west smiled.

"You may kiss your bride." He said cheerfully. Nelly leaned in and placed a passionate kiss on Amber's lips and the entire room cheered, even Kirby, who chose to sit in the back.

Maybe he wasn't quite over what he and Amber had, but it had been so long ago it really didn't even matter. But if Kirby was completely honest with himself he only came to the wedding for the free food and to hang out with Miroku.

Nelly escorted Amber down the aisle, and Sakura let Hitomi and Akira happily follow them down the aisle, dropping pink rose petals on the floor.

Miroku stepped up and held out his arm towards Sango, who took it rather reluctantly. He smiled despite her apprehension and walked with her down the aisle, the same aisle he had led her down before. "You look really beautiful today." He murmured softly.

Sango blushed and looked away. "Thank you…" She said, politely, feeling extremely awkward. How long was this damn aisle? When were they ever going to get to the end of it? Was Miroku going slow on purpose? (Ugh, stupid monk).

Eventually, they did reach the doors and Sango didn't hesitate to wrench herself away from him. She turned her attention immediately to her girls, ignoring a very dejected looking monk.

Alright, so she was still mad at him, despite all of those mixed signals she was sending him through the entire wedding ceremony. Damn, she was confusing.

Kirby joined them just outside the large doors and he smiled at Nelly. "Congratulations."

"Yea…" Nelly said a little cautiously. He still didn't trust the guy, though Amber clearly didn't care about his presence. To Nelly, it was still to fresh in his mind.

Hayden and Usher were the last to come through the doors. Then Miroku knew it was time for the reception. A time he could maybe have a chance to steal a dance or two with Sango and talk out their problems. That seemed like a great plan until he was reminded of one small problem.

Rob. He had been invited to the wedding out of some crazy idea, that Miroku was convinced only women could come up with, to have him do some fake magic show for the children during the reception to ward off their boredom.

But really, how long could he keep children entertained with his magic tricks? He knew his own daughters had more intelligence than that. They wouldn't be so easily amused, at least he would have liked to think that.

And to make matters worse, Rob had immediately led Sango away from him towards his own car, so that _he_ could drive her to the reception and probably try to make a couple of secret moves on his wife. Well, Miroku wasn't going to let that happen. "Yo, Kirby."

"Yea, gramps?" He asked, grinning.

Miroku ignored the name for the time being. "I need you to ride with that magic idiot. Make sure he doesn't make a move on, Sango."

"Aw, c'mon." Kirby begged in disbelief. "I wanted to show off my new car to all the single ladies at the reception."

The houshi simply grinned and wrapped his arm around him. "Mrs. Harrison said you came from our son's line, did she not?"

Kirby thought back. "Yea…"

"And as you can see, I do not have a son yet, correct?"

Kirby looked blankly at the monk, then down at Akira and Hitomi. "Correct." He responded after a minute.

"If Sango and I don't get back together soon, you could disappear." Miroku explained to him slyly. He had to spell things out for Kirby. What he lacked in brains, he made up for in looks and Miroku supposed he got that from him. The monk could be a bit brainless at times, but he was undoubtedly easy on the eyes.

There was a loud gasp from Kirby. "Oh crap! You two have to get back together! My life depends on it!"

"Exactly."

Kirby patted himself down with his hands. "OK, I'm still here. It's not too late. Though, I have been feeling faint here lately, but I think--"

Miroku heard a car engine start. "Will you just go?"

"Oh! Right! Sorry gramps." He said, then fled towards the door.

"And stop calling me that!" Miroku called after him. Buddha, how did he end up with such a weird life and an even stranger family.

************************************************************************

"Wait! Wait!" Sango heard a voice, that sounded slightly like Miroku's and she rolled her eyes and pivoted around only to have her jaw drop in surprise. It was Kirby who was running towards her like a maniac, not Miroku.

"Kirby…?"

"Wait. I need a ride." He said, quickly. "My car…it won't start and it's acting all…crazy!"

Sango glanced over at Rob and she had a suspicion that Miroku put him up to this. "Oh? Rob, why don't you have a look at it?"

"Alri--"

"No!" Kirby protested, throwing out both his hands in protest. "No! I mean…I…I only let professionals look at my car."

Sango looked at him, her arms folded over her chest. Miroku wasn't a professional, yet they only spent 5 hours looking at each other's car a few weeks ago. Something was definitely up. "Oh really?" She asked.

"Yea." Kirby said with a smile. "It's my baby. My pride and joy. My chick-magnet." He said, confidently. "So, I can't just let some…I don't know…_magician_ look at it."

Rob looked at him, then at his watch. "Well, get in, or we're going to be late. I still have to set up for my show."

Sango looked at Rob in surprise that he didn't put up much of a fight, and she figured she wouldn't either. If Rob didn't mind Kirby riding with him, then she didn't mind either, though Rob looked just a tad displeased.

"So…" Kirby said, settling in the backseat as Rob drove out onto the road. "Sango, how have you been?" He asked, leaning back and propping his shoes up on the arm rest between the two front seats. Not only was that distracting but there was a large glob of pink gum stuck to his shoe.

"Well," Sango said thoughtfully. "I was doing fine until you stuck your disgusting feet up here."

Rob gripped his steering wheel. "Sango, who is this creep?"

Sango panicked. What was she supposed to say? 'My grandson.' He would never understand. "Uh…he's my uh…"

"Cousin." Kirby spoke up, exchanging a glance with her. "Well, cousin-in-law. Actually, ex-cousin-in-law, I guess." He grinned nervously, he wasn't as good as Miroku was at lying. "I'm Miroku's cousin."

"Oh." Rob said, not bothering to keep his annoyance a secret. "That explains a lot."

Sango pushed his feet down. "Kirby, where are the girls?"

"They're with Miroku." He told her. "The little angels are safe and sound. Don't you worry about a thing. Hey, wouldn't you like to have a son?"

"Kirby, shut up." Sango snapped curtly. "You're rambling."

"Yea, I have a tendency to do that, don't I?" He asked, laughing. Then he saw exactly what he was here to stop, Rob wrapped his arm around Sango's shoulder. Kirby was on a mission, mainly to save himself, but to also bring the monk and the taijya back together.

He pushed his head under Rob's arm and smiled dramatically. "Whatcha doin'?" He asked, quite loudly and Rob pulled his arm away. Kirby twisted his face in disgust. "Haven't you ever heard of deodorant, dude?"

Rob scowled. "You wanna walk, smartass?"

"No."

"Then shut up." Rob said, angrily. His voice softened however when he turned his attention towards Sango. "Where's the reception at, baby?"

Sango looked at him, quite shocked he had called her that. "Uhm…"

"Baby?" Kirby asked. "She looks pretty old to me…" he mumbled.

"What did you say?" Sango glared back at him. "You're right, Rob. We should make him walk."

"No!" Kirby protested. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant…you should call her 'beautiful', or 'my love' or--"

"Kirby…" Sango warned, then turned her attention back in front of her. "I think it's right up here at this turn. It's a large casino."

Rob made a right turn down a newly paved road and a large, very fancy casino building came into view. Rob quickly found a parking space right next to the side entrance to where he could quickly load his props into the basement for the magic show.

"Rob, are you sure you mind doing this? I know it's a little inconvenient and--"

"Sango, my love…" He stopped her with a smile and rubbed her cheek with his fingertips. "I don't mind at all." He leaned in and kissed her softly, only to be interrupted very quickly by Kirby who stepped out of the car.

"I hope Miroku sees that and kicks your ass."

"_You_ stay out of it." Rob grumbled at him. "Sango, you can go on in there and be with your friends, I'll be alright setting up by myself."

"Are you sure?"

"A woman shouldn't be doing this kind of stuff." He said, pulling out a table. "It's dangerous. Hey needle-nose, come and help me."

"What?" Kirby asked turning around. "What did you just call me?"

"I can't remember your name, so just come help me, ok?" He said, rolling his eyes.

Kirby grumbled and reached into the trunk reluctantly. At least he did what he was supposed to do, and that was keep Sango away from Rob just as Miroku wanted him to do.


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

_After the reception dinner, it was time for the part Sango was dreading. The dance. Since Rob's magic show for the children was being held the same time as the dance, Sango was partner-less. Well sort of. There was always Miroku if she got desperate._

_He was leaned against the wall, alongside Kirby who was checking out all of Amber's friends. Miroku, surprisingly, kept his gaze on her as she entered the room, not once taking his shimmering gaze from her._

_Miroku looked so confident, cocky, and way too handsome for her comfort. He was leaned against the wall in a relaxed manor, both his hands in his pockets. Was that really the man she was married, too?_

"_Mommy!" Hitomi's voice rang through the room and Sango picked her up._

"_Well, Hello there. Are you ready for the magic show?" She asked._

"_Yep." She replied. "Where's uncle Inu Yasha and Aunt Kagome?"_

_Sango looked around. "There right over there with Devon and Keiko and your sister."_

_Hitomi made a face as Sango sat her down on the hardwood floor. "Ugh, Devon."_

"_Hitomi…" Her mother's voice warned. "Be nice. Now have fun, I'll be down to get you afterwards." She watched as her four year old daughter quickly ran over to Inu Yasha and Kagome, who were of course, arguing as usual about something that didn't matter._

_She remembered at her own reception that the half-demon asked Kagome to marry him. Her attention was back on Miroku as soon as Hitomi and Akira were out of her sight and the bride and groom's first dance song came on._

_Leave it up to Amber to pick a Brian McKnight song._

_To make matters even worse, the monk was headed over to her right now, looking determined and mischievous. He smiled at her charmingly. "You know, it's just as much of a tradition that the best man dances with the maid of honor as it is for the bride and groom to dance to their first song together…"_

"_Traditions were made to be broken." Sango told him coldly, but it didn't seem to faze him. Instead he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards him. "Miroku…" She growled._

"_C'mon, one dance isn't going to kill you. Besides, we're both partner-less and I doubt you want to just sit by the wall while all your other friends are dancing." He said, looking around, even to discover that Kirby was dancing with a very attractive red-head and they seemed to be hitting it off._

_Sango raised an eyebrow. "Seems he likes the girl from Amber's work, Asuka."_

"_Good." Miroku said with a chuckle. "It will get him out of my hair if he finds himself a girlfriend."_

"_True. He is quite annoying." She commented, not even realizing she had become comfortable slow dancing with him. They had even inched closer to each other sub-consciously. _

"_I suppose he gets that from me." He said, with a laugh, then he immediately regretted it. That comment only reminded her of something and her face paled, more than Miroku would expect it to. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by that. You know, those records Sakura looked up might not be accurate. It doesn't mean we're going to have a son, or we're supposed to or anything. Maybe--"_

"_Miroku…" Sango said, sighing. "Just…be quiet and dance with me." _

"_Alright." He said, feeling a bit awkward. He tightened his embrace around her and leaned his head onto her shoulder. That's when he realized more eyes were on them then Amber and Nelly. He hoped Sango wouldn't notice. The monk never minded being the center of attention, but he knew that the former exterminator did._

_Sango closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder and reveled in the fact she was in his arms again after what seemed like so long. She missed the way his body felt against hers and she only wished she wasn't wearing this dress so she could feel it even more. She was secretly allowing herself to take pleasure in this and she almost hated herself for it._

"_You know," Miroku said softly, wondering if Sango had noticed that the song had changed. "you look beautiful today."_

_Sango opened her eyes as she felt his breath tickle her neck. "Thank you." She said softly, then lifted her head up so that her brown eyes met his beautiful blue ones. _

"_I still love you." He said softly, allowing his hands to travel lower, but she quickly pulled them up to the middle of her back. He gave her a small, crooked smile and then after a moment his face became serious. "Are you happy with Rob?"_

_Sango hesitated. "Well, I…uhm…"_

"_That's a yes or no answer, Sango." Miroku told her._

"_I'm not really with Rob." She replied. "So, I can't answer that."_

_Miroku's eyes didn't waver from hers, but Sango could see the wheels turning very quickly under that pretty head of dark hair he had. "Alright then," He said, after composing his words after a few seconds. "Then does he make you feel like this?"_

_He leaned down and she could feel his warm breath on her lips, his hands on her hips and she closed her eyes, allowing him to take control of her once more, for some reason._

_Then there was a loud scream, and heavy footsteps running towards the ballroom. "Everyone out!" Inu Yasha exclaimed. "There's a fire!"_

"_A fire?" Amber asked, holding onto Nelly._

"_There's no time explain. Raven, I managed to grab Devon, Kagome's got Keiko. Miroku, Sango. I couldn't get to Akira and Hitomi." Inu Yasha said quickly, immediately seeing the panic on their faces. "Rob had used them both as volunteers when the fire broke out."_

_Miroku rushed past Inu Yasha and broke out into a jog. "I'll get them. Sango, you stay here."_

"_Miroku!" She protested._

"_I mean it. I don't need to protect you, too." He said, sternly not bothering to face her. _

_Sango stomped her foot. She didn't __need_ his protection, both her daughters were in danger and all he could think about was being the hero. And how could Rob let such a stupid thing happen?

She watched him as he disappeared down the corner of the hallway, then he quickly bolted through the basement door just off to the side.

The room was hazy with smoke and it filled his lungs as soon as he descended the stairs. "Akira! Hitomi!" He choked out. He couldn't see in his own hand in front of his face and the smoky air was burning his lungs.

He opened another set of double doors, only to feel the fierce burn of the ferocious flames that consumed a good part of the room. "Shit!" He panicked. "Akira! Hitomi!"

"Daddy?" Akira asked, as she backed herself against the wall, tears streaming down her dirty face.

Relief washed over him. "Oh Thank Buddha, you're alright." He said, trying to keep contact with her, though the smoke was burning his eyes. "Where's your sister?"

"I don't know!" Akira screamed, and Miroku reached for her to pick her up.

"Miroku!" Sango's choking sobs came from the entrance of the room.

"Sango! What are you doing in here?" He asked, angrily. "I told you to go outside with the rest of them."

Sango scowled and tripped over something, probably a chair in the dense, gray, suffocating fog. "My daughters are down here. I can't just go and save myself."

"Sango, take Akira and get out of here."

"Where's Hitomi?"

"I don't know." Miroku replied quickly. "Now get out. You're only going to be in the way."

"Miroku, I--"

A large, flaming beam fell from the ceiling and landed in front of her. She screamed and pulled Akira away from it as quickly as she could. "Oh Kami! Miroku, help!"

Miroku stumbled his way through the thick smoke, the fire illuminated a good part of the room, and there was an awful smell as if gasoline was burning. "Sango. Get out! I promise, I'll find Hitomi." He gagged on the strong smoke and fell to the ground.

"Akira…" Sango choked out. "Get out of here."

"But mommy."

"Just do it!" Sango demanded, before she too fell to her knees and gagged on the thick smoke.

Akira crawled her way towards the red-lighted exit sign and felt around for the push handle. She pushed it open, despite the pain in her right arm, as hard as she could and stumbled onto the grass outside.

Miroku stood up and shook it off. "Hitomi!" He screamed again, then he knocked into a wall, which he didn't know was there because he was blinded by the smoke. Something hard and metal also knocked against him and he dizzily felt around it.

After a few quick seconds of searching her quickly realized it was a fire distinguisher and he yanked it off the wall. Now, if he could only remember how to use it. He pulled the pin out of the top and peered through the fog at the flames. If he could get this put out, the smoke might clear out now that the exit door was open.

At least, Sango had listened to him.

He slowly squeezed the handle and sent the extinguishing agent towards the flames. It seemed to have been working and he was grateful for modern technology and most of all, his luck of finding a fire extinguisher.

"Hitomi!" He called out, looking around the room as the smoke cleared out of the rather large room. "Hitomi, sweety, please answer me!" He begged.

Then he saw her. Her tiny body was slumped against the wall, her eyes were closed and her face was dirty with soot. "Oh, no…" He muttered, fearing the worst and he raced over close to her, still gagging on the smoke. "Hitomi…Hitomi…" He shook her gently, but she was unresponsive.

The more the smoke cleared out the open door, the more he could see her face. She appeared to be asleep, but her weight was heavier than normal and she wasn't responding to anything he was doing. He leaned his ear down to her chest and his own heart seemed to stop. She wasn't breathing. "Oh no…no. Don't let her die…"

He felt a lump in his throat as he lifted her off the floor and looked around for the exit, and in the process he found Sango lying on the floor. "Sango!" He choked out again, and raced towards her.

"Miroku?" Amber's voice came from the open exit door. "Are you alright?" She asked, coughing.

Miroku didn't respond, instead he just handed Hitomi off to her, whom of which Amber discovered was very heavy for a four year old. "Oh my god! Miroku is she…"

"Get her out of here. Take her to the hospital, I'll be there as soon as I can." Miroku ordered, then he kneeled next to Sango and placed his head to her chest.

Thank Buddha, she was breathing. "Sango, c'mon. You have to wake up." He begged her, but didn't hesitate to lift her off the ground. He was weak from smoke inhalation and her own body weight was enough to make him almost topple over, but he quickly maintained his balance. He had to push through this, he had to get her out of there.

He stumbled towards the exit, and he had never been more happy to see sunlight or smell fresh air in his life. One he felt the soft grass under his shoes, his knees buckled and he fell the ground as blackness surrounded him.

************************************************************************

Sango awoke, her room was lit up by a bed side lamp and a very uncomfortable mask was placed over her face. She was too weak to panic, and an annoying beep went off when she tried to remover her mask.

Dr. Brock Harrison rushed into the room, only to have the panic-stricken expression melt into one of relief. "Oh, Sango, you're awake."

"Yes…I…" She closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened. "Oh Kami! The fire…I…my girls!"

Brock peered at her blood pressure monitor and winced. "Sango, dear, don't upset yourself. They are fine. Miroku's been awake for a few days, he said he wants to see you when you have awoken."

"A few days?" Sango asked. "Are you kidding me? Where are my girls?"

"Sango, I assure you. Everything's going to be fine." He said with a small, comforting smile. "But, I think it's best if Miroku explains things to you. After all, he is the one who saved your life."

Sango laid back against her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. A few days? How long had she been out of it? Oh, Kami, she felt like she had been hit by a truck.

The heavy door squeaked open and a very healthy, but tired-looking Miroku walked through the door with a smile. "Sango…" His face needed a shave, and his hair was a bit uncombed, but her heart still fluttered at the sight of him.

"Miroku." She said, and her blood pressure monitor beeped once again, her heart monitor beeped faster and she was quite embarrassed by it.

Just when she thought her heart couldn't race any faster, he hugged her tightly. "I'm so happy you're awake." He said, allowing a tear to fall from his eye. "I was so afraid I might have lost you."

"Miroku…I…what about the girls?" She asked.

Miroku pulled away from her and pulled up the doctor's stool and rolled over next to her. "Akira's fine. She's back home with Nelly and Amber."

"Nelly and Amber? Didn't they go on their honeymoon?" She asked in surprise.

"No. They cancelled and they agreed to watch Akira for us."

"Oh…" Sango said, only feeling half relieved. "And…Hitomi?"

She didn't like the look on Miroku's face, it was a sad, depressing look and his eyes lost their shimmer. Oh Kami, she didn't die, did she?

"She's in critical condition." Miroku answered, and Sango burst out into tears.

"No!" She screamed into her blanket. "No! Miroku! No!"

"Listen," Miroku said, softly, rubbing her back. "The doctor said she's healthy and she'll probably be alright, I just--"

"Probably?" Sango asked. "You expect me to relax on a 'probably'? Miroku that's our child!" She exclaimed, in disbelief at his calm, relaxed persona.

The monk hugged her again as she cried into his shoulder. "Don't upset yourself, honey. You've got to relax. Hitomi's going to be OK. Brock said once you feel well enough you can come see her, though…he did warn me. She's got a lot of tubes hooked up to her.

Sango kicked off her blankets. "I don't care. I want to see her."

"Whoa!" Miroku said, stopping her. "Let me get the nurse. She'll take the IV's out of your arm."

"Iv's?" Sango asked, looking down at her hand. "How long was I out for?"

"6 days." Miroku said. "I haven't left." He said, grabbing her hand. A moment of awkward silence passed between them before Miroku spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

Sango hesitated for a moment and looked into his eyes. "What is it?"

"Did you have any idea you were pregnant?"

Her heart skipped a beat and her expression was a mix of surprise, panic and guilt. "I…Oh no! The smoke! Did it hurt the baby?"

"No." Miroku replied to her quickly, before she upset herself yet again. "Brock said the babies fine. I got you out in time before any damage was done."

Sango leaned back onto her pillow and closed her eyes. "Miroku, I have to eat something. I've been laying here unconscious and starving this poor child."

"Sango, why didn't you tell me?" Miroku asked. "If your pregnant, I kind of need to know that information."

"Well, we were fighting and I figured if you knew, you would be mad." She confessed to him, nervously fidgeting with her hands.

Miroku took her hand and placed his lips to her fingertips and looked up at her. "I would never be at you for something like that."

Sango smiled slightly and then pulled the covers off her legs again. "I want to go see Hitomi."

Nurse joy entered the room right at that moment and smiled. "I'm glad to see your awake. Are you hungry?"

"Not really." Sango responded, making a face at the thought of food.

The pink-haired nurse smiled sweetly and removed the IV's from her hands. "Well, I know Miroku's been wanting to go to the children's care unit to see your daughter. Why don't you spend a little time up there with her and see how you feel?"

"Alright." She said, standing up out of bed. She hated hospital gowns and she felt like an invalid when Miroku helped her into a wheelchair. She would have argued and told him she could walk, but she felt so weak and tired she didn't want to take the chance.

Once they got to the children's section of the large hospital, which had taken quite a while, considering Miroku got lost and Sango was beginning to get wheelchair-sick, he strolled her down the long hallway and stopped in front of Hitomi's room.

Miroku kneeled down in front of her. "Are you sure you want to go in there?"

Sango looked at him, her impatience growing more and more by the second. "Of course I'm sure! I don't care about all the tubes and stuff, I just want to be near my little girl."

"OK, I was just making sure." He said, and he opened the door quietly, then wheeled her inside. She glanced at her from the entrance of the room and immediately became upset.

"Miroku… why is she…hooked up to all of these machines?" She asked, trying to hold back her sobs.

"She wasn't breathing when I found her. Brock said she still had a pulse so she wasn't dead, but--"

"Dead?" Sango asked. "Don't use that word, please."

"Sorry." Miroku apologized quickly. "She's…alive though."

Sango pulled herself out of the wheelchair and Miroku stayed close to her incase she was going to fall again, but instead she supported herself on the bedrail of the Hitomi's hospital bed and reached out a hand to clasp her daughter's. A tear fell down her face as she stared down at her. "This is all my fault."

"No it's not." Miroku said. "How is this your fault?"

"If I would have never encouraged Rob…If I hadn't walked out on you…I would never met him…" She trailed off and began to cry harder. "my little girl wouldn't be hurt right now."

Miroku hugged her and aloud her to cry into his chest. "None of this your fault. Things like this just happen." He ran his fingers through her hair and looked down at his daughter. A large tube was helping her breath, and she was attached to all kind of IV's, a heart monitor and an oxygen machine. "She's going to be OK. Medicine in this world is amazing, you know that."

"I know." Sango said, wiping her eyes and looking up at him when realization hit her. She had been hugging him and strangely that feeling comforted her. "I'm just so worried about her."

Miroku pulled a chair away from the wall to the bedside and urged Sango to sit back down in the wheelchair. "Sango, we really have to talk."

"Miroku, I know I should have told you I was pregnant, but--"

"Not about that." Miroku interrupted her. "It's about Rob."

"Rob?" She asked. "What's he got to do with anything?"

The monk sighed and leaned back in his chair uncomfortably. He wasn't sure if her relationship with Rob had gotten serious or not, but judging by the time on the elevator a little over two weeks ago, she hadn't let it get too serious. "Well, he's the one who started the fire."

"Rob did it?" She asked. "Why would he do such a thing?"

Miroku shrugged and looked over towards Hitomi. "They said there was an accelerant. Gasoline. I talked to the police just three days ago about it. They said they found the lighter Rob used in the room, with Rob's fingerprints on it."

Sango started to cry once again and he suddenly felt bad for telling about it. Maybe he should have waited to tell her. "Sango, I'm sorry."

"No, Miroku. I'm sorry…" She told him. "I should have never trusted him with our children. He was trying to kill them!"

"He was trying to kill me." Miroku said. "He wanted me out of the picture so he could have you all to himself, which I can't really blame the guy…"

Sango looked up at him for a moment. "Don't try to sweet talk your way back into my life Miroku." She said, her voice was still laced with sadness as she peered over at her daughter. "I won't let you hurt me again, even if I spend the rest of my life alone."

"Sango, c'mon…" He said softly. "You should know me better than that. Why would I kiss Emma, or any other woman when I have you to come home to?"

Sango nervously played with a strand of black hair, and she wondered who had managed to take it down out of the hairstyle she last had it in. It had also been thoroughly washed and combed. Had Miroku been taking care of her? "You did kiss Emma. I saw you!"

"Sango, she kissed me!" Miroku told her. "Look, I know you don't believe me, but I was helping her with her car, she said it wouldn't start, at least that's what she told me, so I told her I would have a look at it."

She folded her arms and looked away from Hitomi. The sight only upset her more and now she was becoming frustrated with the houshi. "Go on…" She said.

Relieved that she was actually allowing him to explain himself, he went on. "Well, when I finished changing her oil and her transmission fluid, I had something in my eye and she offered to look at it for me. So, stupidly, I let her. Then she just grabbed me, threw me against the car and kissed me. I mean, I was shocked, I couldn't move, and then you came outside and saw it right at the worst moment…"

She looked at her husband's face and she had gotten good at telling if he was lying or not, and she was almost frightened by the fact she saw no trace of him not telling her the truth. "You really didn't kiss her?"

"No."

"Alright, then. What about Alyssa?"

Miroku leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "I didn't sleep with Alyssa."

"What about the picture? Why did you allow her to dress up in my clothes?" She asked. "Did she look better in them or something?"

"What? No way!" The houshi denied very quickly. "She snooped around in our bedroom while I was putting the girls to bed. I didn't even know she did it."

"Why was she in our house? Or our bedroom? You must have been planning something…" Sango accused. "Look, this is no time to argue, our little girl is--"

"Look, I was going to sleep with her, I really was." He interrupted to her. "You left, you weren't there to stop me and you were so determined to divorce me, I thought why not? But I couldn't."

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because I couldn't get you off my mind." He said. "Just because we are split up doesn't mean I'm going to go sleep with other women. I can't picture myself with anyone but you."

A tear escaped her brown eyes and she quickly wiped them away. "Miroku…I…I don't know what to say…I feel like such a bitch.."

"Why?"

"For not trusting you. I should have known you would never hurt me like that."

"Of course I wouldn't. I meant what I said when I told you I loved you. I always have and I always will. No one will ever be able to take your place. You do so much for me and I realize I haven't been exactly grateful for all of it." Miroku said, feeling guilty. "If you ever come back home, to be with me again, I promise I'll be a better man."

Sango watched him as he took her hand in his. "I…I miss you, Miroku." She said, her voice quivering with the threat of tears again.

"I miss you, too. Sango, please, I'm begging you to come back home." He said. "When Hitomi's better, we can be a family again and I want to bring this new baby in the world together, I don't want you to have to go through it alone."

Sango hesitated for a moment. Could she really trust this lecherous monk with her heart once again? He still flirted, and there was no denying that. He only encouraged these women to kiss him when he did things like that, but then again, he never really did anything did he?

He still loved her, and she still loved him and that was really all that mattered.

"Yes, Miroku. I'll come back home."

Miroku gave her an all-too happy smile and pulled her into his arms again. "Thank you. I missed this so much." He leaned in to kiss her, and for the first time in a long time she kissed him back, running her fingers through his hair just like she used to.

Sango pulled away from him after a long moment and just stared at him.

His heart sank. "What now?"

"Promise me you won't hurt me…ever." She said. "I couldn't handle it."

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers before kissing her once again. "You are my only need. I don't want or need anyone of anything else but you." He kissed her lovingly before he stood up. "C'mon, we better get you something to eat before you vanish." He offered her a smile and she returned it but just barely.

"What about Hitomi?"

"She'll be alright." Miroku promised, wheeling her towards the door. Just before he reached for the handle he heard a small coughing sound from behind him and Sango immediately stood up.

"She woke up!" She shouted and ran towards her bedside once again, leaving Miroku to panic at the door.

"I'll get a nurse. You stay here." Miroku darted out the door, but the nurse, who looked almost exactly like the other nurse Joy in the other department, was already rushing towards him.

She quickly made her way into the room and expertly removed the breathing tube, causing Hitomi to cough a bit, but fortunately breath on her own. "She seems to be doing alright." Nurse joy announced peering down at the very confused four year old.

Miroku ran back inside just in time to see Sango holding Hitomi in both her arms. He walked over to her and rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes, thankful that this dark chapter in their lives was over and everything was going to be fine.

_FIN_


End file.
